Who we are?
by PendejoDuo
Summary: Ruby and Weiss know superficial things about each other. Yet even with his shallow knowledge, their company brings them relief. As their lives begin to interwine, their decisions echo stronger in their relationship. Could this relief be a more complex feeling? Will they decipher their emotions? Can they understand who they are? CW: Mentions of Sex Industry
1. Bought Company

Weiss's mind was running in circles; she knew that in a couple of hours she'd find herself at the middle of a party filled with investors, and that bothered her to no end. The problem was not in being surrounded by a bunch of egoistic, old people she couldn't care less about, the problem was in having to share a room -no matter how big it was- with the one person she hated the most in her life.

Perhaps if Winter was there, she'd find a way to lift up her spirits if even for a bit. Leastwise knowing Whitley would be missing out on the dinner caused the night to become a hundred times more bearable.

However, even with that, the idea of having to attend managed to ruin her day.

"Here you go!"

Before she could react a cup of coffee was placed in front of her, giving off a rich scent so familiar it forced her whole body to relax. How was it possible for a second-rate coffee shop to have someone who made such a good coffee?

Well, that someone was Ruby Rose, the waitress who recently served her orders and seemed to be the only one at the establishment who knew how to prepare a non-mediocre coffee. And she didn't mean it in a flattering manner; the last time she savored a coffee prepared by the other server -a nameless blonde man near her age- she had almost spat the coffee on his face. It didn't help that the guy had the audacity to call her 'angel' a second before she drank the disgusting liquid.

"Thanks Ruby."

Weiss barely turned her head, taking a minute to look sideways at her waitress. She was a spirited girl who, even while standing still, irradiated palpable amounts of energy from every pore of her body. She would always find her with a charming smile filled with genuine delight towards her job.

Their eyes intertwined for a couple of seconds, never straying from each other until Weiss transformed her serious grimace into an actual smile, causing Ruby to break visual contact, scratching the back of her neck as she tried to remember what she had on her mind.

"Anything else you'd like to order Weiss"

"That would be enough, thank you."

The girl just nodded and reminded her that if she wished to order anything else she'd be happy to oblige, before retiring to continue tending the coffee bar badly handled by her blonde companion whom Weiss loathed.

Perhaps loathing was a strong word to describe her feelings towards the clumsy server, but the guy prepared too bad of a coffee to be working in an establishment dedicated to the task.

While Weiss returned her attention to the window leading to the street, she took a sip of the warm coffee held in her hand. In that instant a million sensations reached her palate, overrunning it with its mixture of ashy and pungent flavors.

Personally, she liked her coffee bitter, with no sugar and no milk. She couldn't explain it, but somehow Ruby managed to bring out spicy and roasted flavors out of a simple black coffee. A modest taste of molasses here and there, tempered enough to bring out a roasted flavor. A faint hint of cinnamon that coated her tongue before flowing down her throat. And finally, that delightful temperature where it was hot enough to bring out the best of each ingredient but not so much that it burnt her tongue.

It was intriguing, Weiss thought as she started to digress, not so long ago she didn't give a damn about the flavor of the coffee she was going to drink -as long as it was drinkable-. Yet now she was very grateful for the time given outside her office, since it allowed her to drink Ruby's exquisite coffee.

Her love for said beverage began the fateful day when Weiss decided that the office was suffocating her too much to stay there more than was necessary. That afternoon she rushed out in an attempt to calm down after having an argument with Whitley about a stupid decision he had made. Decision which would, oh surprise, have dire consequences for Weiss's entire department for the next business year but benefit his.

After the inhuman effort she had to put into not strangling her brother in front of the whole company, she needed more than a couple of minutes for herself. And if possible something that would aid in soothing her anxious mind.

And, boy, was she lucky!

She found a coffee shop nearby and knew that her younger brother wouldn't even come close, since apparently any establishment that charged less than four digits for any kind of service or less than three digits for a menu item wasn't worth his time.

Unfortunately, just when she finally managed to begin clearing her mind and relax her body, the blonde server came up to her -in a quite clumsy manner if she may add- and handed over the coffee she had ordered minutes before.

"Here you go." The young man was shaking on his boots as she nodded in acknowledgement and took the coffee from his hands.

By the time she brought the coffee to her lips and she heard the shuffling guy stutter an embarrassed "I, um… well you… I mean, hope you enjoy it, a-angel", she almost spat out her drink in a mixture of utter disgust and annoyance.

Thankfully for him Ruby stepped up, profoundly apologizing on behalf of the management department before she could demand to talk with their boss. The girl even proposed preparing her a new coffee free of charge as compensation.

Weiss didn't know if it was her quick and sincere apology, being conscious that perhaps she was overreacting due to stress or a combination of both, but she ultimately accepted her proposal as long as it wasn't prepared and delivered by the 'blonde oaf'.

The probability that the drink would be thrash once again was most likely high, but as long as it gave her an excuse to spend more time outside of the office, she'd gladly accept it.

A couple of minutes later the younger woman turned in the new beverage with an apologetic smile still plastered on her face. Weiss took a moment or two in deciding whether she should give a chance to the compensation coffee, but as soon as the rich smell reached her nose her decision was made.

Quite a great decision actually. The flavor and sensations it left were so strong it made Weiss momentarily forget any memory of the various problems that had arisen throughout her day.

Since then, day by day the white-haired heiress would arrive to the same place and ask that same coffee out of Ruby. Every day, amidst the early hours of her office schedule, she'd go for her coffee to recharge and then go back to her elegant prison with pristine white walls.

They never exchanged a lot of words, nor any of them attempted to create meaningless or empty chatter. Whether it was out of disinterest or because they did not find any need to do so, neither of them knew, but both were okay with it.

From her visits Weiss knew the girl's name was Ruby Rose thanks to the neatly written name clipped on the front of her black apron. Meanwhile Ruby, knew that her name was Weiss, Weiss Schnee. Apparently someone deemed necessary to tell her not only her last name, but also what it meant to be a Schnee and the 'respect' it entailed.

Of course, the moment Weiss heard the other girl call her 'Ms. Schnee' instead of the casual 'Weiss' she felt not only major discomfort and awkwardness but also distrust settle in her heart, becoming wary of Ruby's intentions. And yet, the younger girl had such a light-hearted atmosphere around her and apologized so sincerely for her 'transgression', that she couldn't even fathom the possibility of her having any bad intentions towards her.

"Just call me Weiss as usual. It's not like I'm my mother." she masked her troubled feelings by making it look as if it wasn't that big of a deal.

And so, both of them let the incident slip, returning to their previous routine.

A quiet routine that didn't last long, for things changed in their interactions three months ago.

It was a Thursday in the evening, the day was cloudy, but not enough to seem like it would rain anytime soon. Weiss was just sitting at the café, not having ordered a beverage like usual. Or if she had, she couldn't really remember.

Her mother… the woman who, though cold, proved to be kind and tender when she needed her… she was dead. Dead from hepatic cirrhosis caused by alcoholic liver disease.

She had seen it coming for a long time. But it was still difficult for her to digest the situation as a whole.

Drowning in her negative thoughts she barely realized someone put a plate in front of her. Her blank stare, few could identify as a mechanism to mask her distress, settled on the food laid in front of her, before taking a look at the person who had the gall to interrupt her thoughts.

Hey eyes quickly recognized Ruby, bearing a rather worried expression

"Hey… I don't mean to be rude but… It looks like something is bothering you today."

She said, sending her way a small smile of understanding, without delving much into the subject.

"And, when something makes me feel bad, a cookie always brightens my day. At least for a bit."

Her words explained why she had brought her a small plate with a cookie and a cup of her usual coffee in front of her.

"This one is on me; I… uh, like, you know… hope all is well Weiss."

And with no more words she disappeared, leaving Weiss sitting by herself with a too sugary cookie for her liking and the perfect coffee she always enjoyed.

How… How dare she? How dare she even try to come close when all she wanted was to be alone with her thoughts. She should've been angry. She should've confidently turned down the plate and the warm drink. And yet… Although in her mind painful thoughts of her mother were still present, she felt like that simple gesture, though it wasn't what she wanted, it was just what she needed.

Not the informative report Winter had given her on how their mother's condition worsened during the week. Not the uninterested retort Whitley spat on how it was a surprise it had not happened earlier. And definitely not her father's impersonal invitation to what would be his wife's funeral.

Knowing there was someone, even if it was a stranger, who cared about her well-being without double thinking if the gesture would annoy her or tarnish their image, in a way it reminded her on how her mother had once been years ago... And it breathed new life into her person remembering who her mother was before the vice.

It was a gesture that though simple, meant a lot to her in the moment. Making the coffee more delectable than usual and the sugary treat manageable enough to eat.

Since then, as the days went by, she found herself more often than not noticing small details in Ruby and how she carried out her work. It ranged from simple stuff such as how the genuine smiles she gave to each customer hid innate shyness and how on Mondays her hair was messier than usual, to more complex stuff such as the fact she always wore the same pair of shoes on Fridays. Or that she had a thing for placing the spoon for the client's coffee on the right side and turned down sides.

Without noticing, they soon began holding short conversations. There were always composed of just a few words and not very deep; not even close to how a decent talk should be, but both of them felt fortunate just from having them in the first place.

She looked at the plate holding her coffee and found a small heart made with whipped cream. She quickly identified it as Ruby's personal touch whenever it was something she prepared. The lively woman would always leave it on Weiss's plate instead of the coffee because she knew the white-haired woman didn't like anything with that level of sweetness inside her cup.

She held a tiny smile as she took a small bit of the whipped cream with her spoon and licked it clean. Ruby's coffee always found a way to make her day just a tad more bearable.

Taking her time, she slowly savored the first sip of her habitual brew, using the free time out of the office to prepare mentally for the encounter she'd have at night with her father. The man who would continually try to take control of her life for his benefit, always finding a way to make her feel insignificant.

In a good day, her father was… quite difficult to deal with. Both Winter and she were particularly aware of what he was capable of.

Weiss shook her head and massaged her temple softly. The point of this outing was to focus on the positives, not wallow in her misery. She had to look at the bright side of the gathering, the party was nothing more than a competition of who would flaunt better their assets and earnings. Therefore, there was a high chance she wouldn't need to interact with her father much. She'd just appear as another property for him to show off for a couple of hours, and then disappear for the rest of the night.

Moreover, it wasn't like her father enjoyed spending time with her, their relationship was fine as long as she presented good results. And recently the company's numbers had been increasing, so technically there weren't a lot of reasons why to worry.

Weiss sighed heavily, her long fingernails tapping the wooden table anxiously.

And yet, her negative feelings towards him resurfaced whenever she recalled how he acted like a cretin at her mother's funeral. How could she trust herself not to act out of spite as soon as she saw his face after what he'd done?

Still, if she was being honest with herself, she didn't really have a choice in the matter, she never had whenever it came to be dealing with him. So, unless she wanted to have a long discussion about her responsibility as his assigned heiress, and perhaps a punishment or two, she had to behave in front of his 'acquaintances'.

Once she began thinking about what she could do and shouldn't do in his presence she found out the whole ordeal was fairly simple given that she followed the basic steps for whenever the Schnees met.

Step number one, dress the best she could so that he wouldn't sneer as soon as he saw her.

Step number two, politely greet every single person she was presented to no matter how little she cared about whatever they had to say.

And finally step three, shut her mouth unless she was asked to answer a question or hold a trivial conversation.

It was almost funny how similar it was to how she dealt with Whitley at their monthly reunions.

Satisfied with her decision to swallow her resentment and act out her part in order to avoid trouble, Weiss let herself stop thinking about the event and instead focus on enjoying her free time.

There wasn't much liquid left inside her cup, so it wasn't long before she finished her drink and found herself listing in her small note all the tasks she had to carry out before leaving the office to get ready for the night.

"Done for today Weiss? Or can I get you anything else?"

A peppy voice she'd learn to recognize came from her side as a lithe hand took the small plate with the white cup. There was an affable smile on Ruby's face as she solely focused on Weiss.

"That'd be all Ruby. Today I'm running short on time. But thank you as always." She stood up from the wooden chair by the window, taking her note and the bag perched by her side, and left a generous tip at the table before heading for the exit.

"Thank you Weiss. Have a great day!" Ruby beamed at her as she took the money and waved at her retreating figure. Ruby was such a child whenever she wasn't making anything coffee related. Weiss thought as she shook her head and waved back; though she had to admit she was really rubbing off on her.

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The rest of the day, though loaded, went by in the flash of an eye. First she dived deep into her unresolved work at the office, continually pointing out mistakes in documents and sending Velvet to retrieve archives from various departments at the company.

She was distracted enough not to think about the party at night until it was time for her appointment at the best beauty salon of the city. She left the rest of the work at the hands of her capable secretary, called her personal driver to pick her up and finally arrived at the renowned two-story building with ample crystal windows and golden highlights.

Her stay was time-consuming to say the least, extending for hours, nonetheless it was worth every second and every cent she paid. Her trusted hairdresser lost no time and quickly tended her silky white hair; profoundly washing it, carefully drying it, and finally taking her time to properly stylize her tresses into an elaborate side braid with her bangs swept sideways.

It wasn't overly intricate, but it looked elegant enough to fit into what her father described as a 'proper business image for social events'.

Paying and saying her goodbyes, she left the building and headed to her apartment to change into the clothes she had chosen with anticipation after hours of continuous deliberation. It was a white halter dress with long skirt, its baby blue accents matched the color of her eyes bringing out their lighter hues. It's cut and open back accentuated her curves, adding to her alluring appeal without being overly exposing.

After applying light makeup to hide her eye bags, product of her sleepless nights, and pink blush, she put on her most expensive yet petite blue earrings to help highlight her sharp features and add more color to her very white outfit.

The rest of her preparations were carried out without thinking, almost as if she was an automated robot centered on getting ready for the event. She had to admit it was impressive the level of self-absorption she could reach, when she least expected she was inside her car being driven to her father's personal mansion.

She could feel her hand tremble as she intensely gripped her coat in an attempt to stop their incessant quaking. She knew she was better than this, she knew that being a Schnee meant she wasn't allowed to show any weakness or be perturbed by petty stuff.

And it angered her. She was angry towards herself for letting such a small thing affect her to this extent. She was angry she couldn't trust her body on doing what she wanted it to do no matter how much she willed it. But most of all she was enraged her father's teachings were still running deep inside her, dictating what she should and shouldn't do even when he wasn't present.

A sudden ringing noise coming from the inside of her white purse caught her attention. She held her breath as she searched for the device and turned its screen to look at the caller. A sigh escaped her lips when she saw it was Winter who was trying to contact her. Feeling her stress deflate que squared her shoulders and answered the call with a tiny smile.

"Hello Winter?"

"Good evening Weiss, I reckon you're heading to father's manor?" Winter's firm tone made her question sound more like a statement. Weiss felt her smile falter and frustration bubble in the pit of her stomach. She was calling for this?

"I'm fine too, thank you. I see you still get right to the point." Weiss grimaced when her sister sighed in return, she knew Winter was getting aggravated by her bitter tone.

"Weiss…"

"And to answer your question, yes. I am heading there in this moment. After all, whether I like it or not, we both know I cannot just miss father's event… Unlike others in the family." she furrowed her eyebrows in annoyance but soon felt her irritation subside, substituted by regret.

"I… I'm sorry… It's just overwhelming… That was out of place."

"Weiss… I understand. It is as you say, I pushed my responsibilities onto you for my selfish desires. You have more than enough reasons to be mad at me." Winter's usually steady tone seemed to almost become vulnerable by the end of her sentence.

"No Winter, I embraced the obligations and restraints that came with being the heiress. It definitely was your decision to reject them… but it was mine to take them. It's no one's fault I have to follow father's whims but mine…" Weiss did her best to sound confident and stable enough to convince her sister, who she knew had her own demons for 'running away' from the burden of being a Schnee.

"Truthfully, I was just upset because it seemed like you called me just to check if I wouldn't back out. It was immature from my part; therefore, I apologize. What I really wanted to say, rather to ask was, will you be coming too?"

Weiss waited patiently for her sister to answer only to receive an uncharacteristic but short chuckle.

"Ever so serious. Weiss… I did not call to ensure your presence at the party; I called to check up on your well-being and be the one to inform you that indeed I will be present at the event."

Weiss felt a smile try to pop up on her face but did her hardest to hide it even though Winter wasn't even capable of looking at her at the moment. She gave herself a second to clear her throat to make sure her voice wouldn't betray the gleeful feeling spreading through her chest and proceeded to speak in what she hoped was her usual tone.

"R-really?" she cringed at her stutter, there goes playing it cool. "Well that's wonderful. After all we have not seen each other in quite some time. I'd like to hear more of your military and personal stories. Will you be there when I arrive?"

"Unfortunately, I'll be arriving an hour late due to delays in my flight. But rest assured, I'll be there before father's toast for the Company's anniversary." Winter quickly appeased Weiss's worries before they could even be spoken.

There was a comfortable silence that lasted no more than a couple of seconds into the call before Winter's voice spoke up again, this time much harder than before, surprising her sister.

"Weiss… Before you arrive I must tell you. I know that in the recent months you and father have not exchanged a lot of words, so you may be out of the loop regarding his actions outside the company. Thus…" In an uncharacteristic manner Winter seemed to be at a loss of words, igniting worry in Weiss's heart. Her sister was never a woman to become speechless.

"What I'm trying to say is… Just don't let him get under your skin. He may not do anything tonight but be ready for any unexpected issue that may arise." Winter finished her sentence rather puzzlingly, beating around the bush through the whole ordeal. Which only pushed her harder into avoiding the topic and instead focus on Winter's advice.

"I'll be prepared." she replied with certainty, trying to make her sister proud.

There was a small, almost undistinguishable pause in the call Weiss barely managed to notice, almost as if Winter was debating whether to speak or not.

"Take care Weiss… See you then."

The call ended in a somewhat disconcerting manner, but Weiss decided to shrug it off, attributing it to her anxiousness towards the party. When she looked at the window her breath hitched when she found her father's manor, along with multiple expensive cars and wealthy people, come into view.

Seems she had arrived.

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"It's a pleasure meeting you Mr. Steelford. I hope you are enjoying father's soiree." Weiss did her best to sound polite as she gave a small bow to the older man standing in front of her.

"Why you must be Jacques's second daughter! The pleasure is mine young miss. Jacques must have done a great job as a father to have such a young lady handling more than perfectly the duty of a head manager just after graduating. Impressive feat indeed!"

Weiss knew the comment was meant to flatter her father and compliment her efforts, but just the thought of that man being anything close to a good fatherly figure didn't sit well with her. She tried her hardest not to grimace or reflexively disagree, instead nodding in practiced compliance.

"You must have a great eye not only for business Mr. Steelford, but also results. 'The company deserves no less than the best'; that has always been father's motto and of course the reason of his partnership with your firm. It's not surprising he's done everything in his power to make me the best at what I do. I hope in future projects I'm able to withhold your expectations and his wishes." again, she smiled almost mechanically to deliver well-mannered friendliness.

"You flatter me Miss Schnee, my eyes aren't as good as you make them to be. I'm just a watchful old man who's learned to read numbers. But perhaps I should take a page or two from your father's book regarding my sons, they could need a thing or two taught to them about responsibilities and obligations." he laughed joyfully at the glare the two younger men at his side sent him.

Weiss could feel her smile crook at his comment but managed to fix it just in time.

"That's also an impressive skill to carry Mr. Steelford. And, I'm sure your heir will be more than capable of carrying out his duties under your guidance." she smiled at who she thought was the older brother and then methodically looked at the white watch on her wrist. "I must apologize for cutting our conversation short, but I haven't seen father and it will soon be time for the midnight toast. If you'll excuse me."

Once again she gracefully bowed and turned on her heel to what would probably be the worst part of the night. Sure, the first hour or so of boot licking, fake politeness and continuous introductions had been horrible and tiring to say the least, but it wasn't even remotely close to how energy-draining the interactions with her father were.

Throughout the night she'd been purposefully avoiding that man, it was fairly easy considering the huge crowd that betrayed his presence and his lack of interest in interacting with her. After all he needed no more than knowing she was at his event doing the job he'd told her to do.

But now that the time for the toast was close, both of them had no other choice but to act as father and daughter in front of the guests. And so, with heavy steps she decided to head towards the crowd of people that flocked around her father like bees to honey. She'd hoped Winter would be by her side by the time she had to do this, but her sister hadn't arrived yet.

As the regal figure of a tall man clad in a pristine white suit came into view she felt her stomach churn with uncertainty and annoyance. It seemed he'd also recognized her by her characteristic hair color and was decent enough to spare her a glance for a second before continuing his discussion with the man in front of him.

When she finally came to step in front of him, heart hammering inside her chest, he barely nodded in recognition of her presence.

"Good timing. Mr. Alshams, this is my second daughter and current heiress Weiss. Weiss, I would like you to meet the latest member of the Schnee conglomerate Alkubraa Alshams, from Taqa. We were just speaking of how their company would have continuous exchanges with the headquarters here at Vale."

The man standing before her seemed to be in his early 30's, his tanned skin and emerald eyes along with his clothing made Weiss think about Vacuo, a continent her father had been interested in for years.

"It's a pleasure to finally meet the famous Schnee prodigy. I'd heard she was very young for her position, but to think she'd be the age of your special guest. I can't image how polished her studies must have been to make her this capable." he whistled impressed and Weiss knew her assumptions of him being from Vacuo were correct. Business etiquette was much less strict from that Kingdom.

And yet she didn't even pay attention to that fact, or how disrespectful that introduction had been for her taste. She was centered on the mentioned special guest. What did he mean with special guest? Her father considered none special enough to invite if they had naught to offer to his company.

She eyed her father quickly and noticed him huff in annoyance, a firm frown settling in his face at the unneeded comment coming from his new partner in business.

"That'd be all Mr. Alshams, I must speak with my daughter before the yearly toast. If you'd excuse me." he subtly glared at the younger man, causing him to nervously bow and step away from their sight.

An uncomfortable silence settled as they both began walking away from the crowd around them, a single stare from her father communicating he desired no more company from those around him. Weiss expected them to head to the stairs where the toast was usually carried out, but instead they walked to the area of appetizers.

"Weiss, as you must be aware, your sister won't be arriving at time for the toast due to the delay in her flight. And since Whitley won't be present and your mother is no longer available, we'll postpone the toast for half an hour to give her time to arrive. We don't want to give an image of a fragmented family to the investors. I won't accept anything but perfection, understood?" he looked at her right in the eye with his hands behind his back.

Weiss nodded and clenched her fists angrily; he was implying he didn't want a repeat of what she'd done at her mother's funeral. And it infuriated her how he dared to make it seem as if she was on the wrong for reacting as she did.

Nonetheless, "As you wish father." she answered obediently.

"See you in half an hour Weiss. Don't. Cause. A scene." his voice became colder as he turned around and headed towards the table filled with appetizers. Weiss arched an eyebrow and crossed her arms at her father's words and decision to go for a snack.

Wasn't he the one who'd always say eating before a speech was unacceptable?

Yet, as soon as she saw him arrive at the table and hold a young woman with a black and wine-colored dress by the waist, she understood not only his warning, but also Winter's words before the party about being prepared.

Their mother had been dead for less than four months and he was already parading around his own parties with a woman the age of her second daughter? And she was the one supposed to behave?

She profoundly glared at the black-haired woman standing at her father's side. She was enthusiastically talking about the variety of treats present on the table, doing big gestures with her hands and arms.

Her father always hated talkative, hyperactive people, but apparently the way the expensive dress hugged that woman's curves was enough to make him forget his animosity. It was either that or the girl's evidently athletic figure and youth.

She was fuming, and she knew that unless she erased that shocking image from her sight she'd do what her father said and cause a scene. Gritting her teeth, she turned around and headed towards the garden at the back of the mansion.

She needed not only fresh air, but also to cool down after what she'd seen.

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The half an hour dedicated to wait for Winter went by in a blur of mixed emotions for Weiss. She was barely able to take notice of the time when she stood and headed for the stairs, just in time for the toast.

She found her older sister standing by on the first step, posture regal as always and back completely straight. Her deep blue eyes were searching for someone, stopping their scanning as soon as she saw Weiss walking towards her among the crowd of wealthy people.

"Weiss, It's-" her words died at her throat as soon as she saw the unamused look Weiss was giving her. She sighed and wished to speak again, but Weiss beat her to it.

"Let's just… not Winter. Father wants no complications… And I want no more from this bullshit. Let's get this over with so I can just… go." Weiss walked past her sister without even looking at her. She was angry at what Winter had hid for who knows how long, but she knew that if she began asking questions the situation could probably get out of hand.

As she raised her head she felt her brows furrow when once again she found her father with the young woman he had invited turning her back to her. She could feel the intense anger burning from within her but bit her tongue in an attempt of subduing her words.

"Father, won't you introduce us your company before the toast?" she couldn't stop the words from leaving her mouth as soon as Jacques recognized her presence. He quickly turned his indifferent stare of recognition into a scowl, subtly rubbing his temples. It almost made her smirk since she knew he had no other choice but to be polite and present both women. Otherwise he'd risk seeming rude.

At this point Jacques, Winter and Weiss herself, all knew her frustration was reaching a point where she was becoming narrow minded and too emotional. However, as big as it was it fizzled out the moment she came face to face with the unexpected guest her father had invited on a whim.

The choppy black hair that turned into a brighter red color near the tips, the fair skin functioning as a soft, protective layer for the athletic muscles beneath it and finally those characteristic bright silvery eyes, looking at her in a mixture of shock and embarrassment. Weiss had grown to know all these traits and their quirks very well, they belonged to-

"Weiss, this young lady, as you already know, is my personal guest for this year's event. Her name is Ruby Rose and she is under contract as my escort. Treat her well, am I being clear?" his voice, though relaxed, held a cold tone that Weiss could usually identify as a threat. At least she would have detected it if it weren't for the fact that her brain was occupied with someone else.

As soon as the silence settled in she scrambled to mask her surprise mixed with disappointment, setting in place a neutral expression and a polite smile. She gracefully extended her hand and looked at the younger woman right in the eye "It's a pleasure to meet you Miss Rose. I'm Weiss… Weiss Schnee, Jacques second daughter and current heiress of the company. I hope father has been an amiable host."

For a couple of seconds Ruby's eyes seemed to be incapable of looking at Weiss's own, her silvery orbs constantly shifting from the other woman's extended hand and the floor until she finally gathered enough courage to shake the pale hand in front of her and look at her if only for a moment.

"It is, uh I mean... Pleasure is all mine, Weiss… Ha ha…" she nervously chuckled as she fought the urge to clam up. "I couldn't ask any more out of Jacques. A-as a guest of course." the young woman scratched her neck awkwardly, internally wincing at her gawkiness while her other hand rubbed against her dress anxiously.

"Let's go. Winter. Weiss. We must not keep the rest of the guests waiting for the toast." Jacques thankfully ended the awkward exchange between both ladies. "Wait for me at the base of the stairs Miss Rose." he ordered with a rather soft voice before climbing the stairs.

Winter soon followed him not before sending a warning stare at Weiss who was still holding Ruby's hand and looking at her as if studying every single one of her reactions. When both of her relatives turned around she let her polite smile fall, letting a displeased frown replace it.

"Enjoy your night… Miss Rose." she let go of her hand and felt her steps become heavy as a jumble of thoughts plagued her mind with the unexpected encounter. She had only climbed a couple of steps when a voice behind her stopped her in her tracks.

"Weiss!" It was Ruby's voice.

She turned around, knowing she wasn't able to properly contain the troubled expression embodied in her face when Ruby lowered her head as soon as she saw it.

"I'm… Sorry… I mean... it's just uh, I... I don't know what to say."

Weiss looked at her, finding the young girl with her own troubled expression filled with remorse, and then shifted her gaze to look at the floor. She stood silently for what felt like an eternity, until she finally turned her back towards Ruby, fatigue causing her shoulders to fall.

"There's nothing to be said."

She then climbed up the rest of the stairs, heading to her place at the annual toast.

It's a shame how she'd let down Winter once again.

There goes being prepared for the unexpected.

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It was with the gentle tinkle of Jacques's glass that he gained attention from the entire room, completely silencing the chatter present at the party. All the guest turned their eyes to the rows of furniture that had been placed on the second floor by the stairs.

At the center of the second floor an ivory white podium stood tall above the long tables at its sides, on the left important investors for the company sat silently; many of these with a historical record of affiliation to the company, in addition to several Schnee relatives who had put their trust and money into Jacque's projects.

On the right side were all the high members of the Schnee Dust Company; those that formed the different branches and head managers of every single important office. The wide platform at the center was seized by no other than Jacques with his brows lightly raised in contemplation of the guests at his sides. At his left side was Winter with her usual stoic expression, she was occupying the place that once belonged to the matriarch of the family, while on the right side was Weiss, being his second in command and future heiress of the company.

The silence within the room was absolute; there was no noise that could steal the attention away from Jacques Schnee's toast. Everything was going perfectly.

And yet for Weiss, something was ... wrong.

The fatigue inside her body was staring to penetrate deeply into her being. Little by little it was gnawing at the bits of mental strength she had left. Even though she was sure that the climax of her father's event was happening around her, her brain wasn't able to register the string of words leaving his mouth.

She only heard a buzz, deep inside her mind, that was slowly but surely getting more and more annoying. The rise and fall of her ribcage whenever she breathed was the only bodily sensation tracked by her mind, yet the feeling was so fuzzy she could barely notice how it was faster and more erratic than normal.

With a stoic expression, Weiss raised her hand gently and took the glass of champagne placed in front of her. Between her fingers and on her palm she felt the droplets of condensation that stuck to the surface of the glass due to the difference in temperature. She separated her hand from the expensive crystal, and instead traced the foggy surface with her digits, seeking to relive the coolness its condensation brought to her touch.

She saw the people at her side grab a firm hold of the glass placed in front of them, and she mirrored their movements by reflex. Her eyes fixed on her hand and the object it was grasping, and although her mind was still blank she let out a heavy sigh.

She had to admit it was easier to pretend it was than to actually keep her mind clear.

The last weeks had been stressful; in fact, it'd been that way ever since Weiss had obtained the title of head manager at Vale; there always seemed to be problem after problem, difficulty after difficulty. Not to mention the endless list of procedures that had to be optimized. All done with the single purpose of proving she was someone able to fix her predecessor's failures; a worthy heiress of the company.

Much better than her progenitor ever aspired to be.

And yet…

It seemed like Whitley did everything in his power to make working with him insufferable, and, though scarce, every interaction with her father managed to increase her stress and self-doubt tenfold. Not to mention that Winter was far from everyone.

In short, there were many days in which she felt truly alone.

Despite that, there were small things that made her days more tolerable: one of those was her break time at midday when she went to the coffee shop a walk away from work. Taking a couple of minutes away from work, smelling the rich aroma and drinking the delightful coffee that somehow, be it caffeine or something else, gave her new life.

Said coffee was prepared by Ruby Rose.

The girl who had been there to silently show care for her every now and then.

The one person who actually did something to make her feel better when her mother passed away. Not Whitley, definitely not father, and it pained her to say it but, god, not even Winter. It was Ruby.

And now, that same girl was the one supplanting her deceased mother with her father. Giving everyone present a vain show of elegance and eroticism; strolling around the room as if she was just another object for Jacques Schnee to possess and exhibit.

That made her nauseous. But, above all, it filled her with ire.

How was her father capable of hiring a woman to bring her to such an event?

Didn't he have a single hint of remorse towards the late mother of his three children?

Wasn't he capable of caring about anything other than his stupid desires?

Weiss's eyes, which already bore a serious and aggressive expression in itself, turned away from her fingers, looking at the ceiling in an attempt to calm her running mind.

But she wasn't successful.

Was she the only damn sane person present in this room?

It was wrong that her younger brother was a damn fool, blinded by the lien he aspired to produce!

She felt so abandoned by her sister that there were times she thought Winter's concern for her wellbeing was all a lie produced by her mind!

The last times she'd seen her mother the woman wasn't able of telling her apart from Winter due to how alcoholic she was!

Her father had decided it was okay to hire a woman her age!

Didn't anybody think it was strange?! That it was wrong?!

…

Did Ruby consider it was fine for her father to hire her?

Why ... had she accepted?

As the questions flooded her mind Weiss's felt the strength leave her body.

She had already spent some time trying to keep her appearance strong and imposing, with her back straight and avoiding the back of her chair. But the convincing image she created shattered in a second, teared apart by the tiredness weighting down her shoulders.

She softly let her body collapse on the chair, fully leaning on the backrest. Her shoulders dropped, and her line of vision which had been kept straight ahead had now fallen to the surface of the table, seemingly lost.

There was a sandy dryness scraping at her throat. The incessant buzzing was still nagging at her ears. And, even though she was supposed to be used to the feeling, everything when it came to her father felt cold, almost foreign.

A thought invaded her mind, and she completely lost herself in it: This was Ruby's real work. The one that paid the bills.

Her hands went down to her lap, where they clutched the dress that adorned her frame. The force she applied was immeasurable, she was in such a deep state of trance she didn't notice how the threads of her clothing were slowly being torn apart by her fingers.

She probably has a need that pushes her to do this. And now, it has brought her to the wolf's den. Where everyone eager to show what their dirty money can get them… The worst is father will leisurely savor the main course at the end of the night.

It was then that Weiss's eyes widened, realizing what Ruby's contract could entail.

"Cheers, for the Schnee Dust Company!"

The loud shout of celebration snapped Weiss out of her trance, tearing through the haze and the ringing alarms settled in her mind. She gracefully took the cup, lifted it and drunk the liquor within it just like the rest of the people around her.

The bitter liquid caressed her throat with promises of relief, yet the raw feeling of worry etched into her mind began consuming her every thought.

The event was over, every person would gradually leave the mansion and go off to their home. It was highly likely her father would leave the task of seeing out the guests to both her and Winter since he always retired to his quarters after a late event.

Which meant that Ruby would disappear from her sight and ... God would know what else would happen between them.

Turning to her side she noticed her father was long gone; it was customary for him to retire first, then those on the left side and finally herself. But quite frankly right now she didn't give a damn about which rules she was meant to follow.

She got up immediately and turned Winter towards her by the shoulder, unlike her she was waiting for the rest of the investors to withdraw.

"Winter. Where is father?"

Not only the question, but also her tone of voice took the older woman off guard, who looked at her with something akin to a surprised expression.

"I am not aware of father's current location. I assume he withdrew to his chambers, he retreated as soon as the toast was finished... By-"

Without waiting any longer, Weiss shot through the room, leaving behind a very confused Winter. The heiress could swear that her sister was screaming for her name, but she paid no heed, there was a far more urgent matter to check on.

As she went down the stairs she desperately searched for the characteristic bicolor hair and excited attitude. Father had told Ruby to wait for him at the base of the stairs, so she was supposed to be nearby. Yet the closer she got to the first floor the more evident it became that, although there were many people there, there was not a single trace of Ruby's hair or presence.

Upon arriving, and noticing that, in fact, neither the young woman nor her father was here, she felt her heart sink to her stomach.

With a quick motion she turned to look at the top of the stairs on the opposite wing of the mansion, where the numerous bedrooms and living quarters were, but most importantly, where her father's personal chamber was located.

There was still a possibility that they were both on their way to his bedroom and she'd be able to intercept them.

She skittered through the left wing, the main hall and finally the right wing, careful to avoid crashing into any guest. She started climbing the stairs curving rightwards, her thin heels making a noticeable stomping sound due to the speed and strength she carried in every step.

Lacking air due to her 'graceful' sprint through the mansion she breathed with agitation. Weiss finally arrived at the second floor, just a couple of rooms away from her destination; breathing deeply she stilled her nerves and advanced expertly through the long hall, heading to the last room of the corridor. Hopefully she'd be on time to ruin whatever the hell he planned on doing.

The feeling of cold sweat was almost as bad as her thundering heart beats inside her chest. She wanted to turn back and forget that anything had happened. After all it was Ruby's business what she did with her body… Yet it felt so wrong not to even try to be there for her.

So, she kept on.

Until she finally reached the huge mahogany doors that separated the hallway from the interior of her father's room.

Through the gap at the bottom she could see a yellowish stripe of light that extended a meter or two down the corridor; the only person allowed into the room was her father. He was here.

The previously silenced buzzing came back in full force, turning the stillness of the corridor into a deafening silence. It was maddening how the lack of noise could be either a good or a bad sign. She tried to strain her ears but lacked the courage to do so; a part of her wanted to hear if they were inside, yet her negative thoughts were telling her that perhaps she didn't really want to hear whatever was happening inside.

Slowly Weiss raised her right hand and took a deep breath in an attempt to gather the resolution she'd need to defy her father if it was needed.

Doubtlessly, her knuckles knocked very gently on the door.

She waited, being unsure of how much time had passed since she decided to knock on the thick, wooden door. Her knuckles thumped softly one last time against the door.

This was taking too long, she needed to act now.

She forced herself to bleed out the tension inside her, enough so that she'd be capable of loudly knocking at her father's door. It was the only way the older man wouldn't be able to ignore her if he was sharing his room with someone else.

But when she was inches away from pounding at the wood, the light emanating from the room flicked out. Her hand reflexively went to the pommel, attempting to open the door, but it didn't bulge, being locked from the inside. Her breathing stopped and her gaze fell to the ground.

It felt as if a bucket of cold water had been thrown all over her body, extinguishing her courage.

It… it was harder than she had expected…

Facing the fact that she was too late.

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It was Monday at night, the clock's needles pointed very closely to nine o'clock, which meant that the time to close the café was just a couple of minutes away. While Jaune was taking care of moving some boxes with a brand-new blend, Ruby was washing parts of the coffee maker and putting away all the tools she used to make her blends.

She usually put a lot of effort into this part of her day; looking at the small utensils that pulled out the best out of each coffee bean always brought her joy. Yet today her mind was simply gone. She couldn't put the same enthusiasm.

Ever since Saturday night Ruby's head had been in the clouds. Just that they were not pretty fluffy clouds, instead they were black and stormy. Despite the fact that she didn't have to work on Sunday, her mind got no rest, for it was preoccupied with constantly reliving what had transpired at the party.

She paced all over the rooms inside the house, rambled whenever she was asked to answer anything and had eaten three whole packages of cookies by the time the clock reached 12:00 at noon.

Even Yang who was tired by work noticed Ruby fidgety state, asking her if there was anything wrong.

"Acting weird? Me? Pffff… Nah, I'm… Just worried about a project! You know that teacher I've always told you about? The one that is too keen on details. Well, I sent him the file with an editing error. Which is bummer because it's a big part of the grade. B-but even if I fail I have money saved to take again the course and..." her rant had lasted 3 whole minutes and didn't seem to end anytime soon, making her nervousness only more obvious.

It always brought a smile to Yang lips seeing how Ruby tried so hard when she was a person who wholeheartedly bore her emotions. The blonde woman heartily chuckled at Ruby's hasty explanation and let it slip.

"It's okay Rubes, I get it." she ruffled her hair and sent her a knowing smile.

During the rest of the day she was able to distract herself with Yang, but when night came and she had to go off to work, Ruby was left all alone in her bed with her thoughts. Then, it all came back flooding her mind.

The next day she would only have her job, since on Mondays she had no courses to attend; which meant she would see Weiss again after the fiasco that happened the night before.

That single thought was causing her to eat her heart out. Pretty quickly the minutes of the night were turning into an hour, and then two. Yet all she was able to do was roll around her bed and pace in her room without being able to get a pinch of sleep.

It was scary, having to face Weiss on Monday.

But it was much scarier the thought that maybe Weiss wouldn't even come up.

The possibility petrified her to such an extent that all her fidgeting and walking came to an abrupt end.

What if Weiss never came back?

She was an important customer for the establishment…

Plus, Ruby would feel bad if she would have to walk further away just to get a single coffee because she had ruined her experience…

But… above all, she… She genuinely thought the two of them were starting to become actual friends, not just acquaintances.

A nagging voice inside her head had always called her delusional for entertaining the thought, more so when Jaune told her Weiss was apparently very rich and very important. Yet their recent exchanges silenced it, the short interactions made her believe that there would come a day when the two of them could call each other 'friend'.

After yesterday it was back, and this time more wounding and relentless.

Making friends had never been her forte, she'd been painfully aware of the fact ever since she was a kid.

She was awkward. And clumsy. Yet too smart and capable for her age. Which only gave the kids older than her more reasons to feel uncomfortable around her presence.

Ruby brought her knees up to her chest, resting her head on top of them as she tried to wrestle back control of her own head. She hated when negative thoughts and bad memories were the only thing that she could focus on. It somehow turned all her actions meaningless.

When morning came, she had barely slept.

Upon arriving at the cafeteria, she greeted Jaune, who obviously noticed that his friend had a pair of prominent dark circles under both of her eyes; something that never happened considering Ruby was a person who could sleep 4 hours and still seem more refreshed than him when he slept 8.

In spite of that, he decided not to ask her about it. Perhaps it was nothing too serious. After all it wasn't strange for Ruby to stay up late planning stuff for their future campaign.

It was when he noticed she made a mistake in two orders and almost broke a plate in less than an hour that the blonde's alarms began ringing loudly. There was definitely something wrong. She was the one supposed to be the dependable in the store, not him!

It was early so Jaune took advantage of the lack of customers to talk with her, finally asking his friend what was troubling her. He fumbled with his words as he tried to be as tactful as possible about her recent mistakes but was ultimately able to get the words out.

Just like Ruby, if not more, Jaune was an extremely awkward and self-conscious person, so his friend's understanding and honest response sort of surprised him, more so considering he delivered what he thought was nothing more than a mess of incomprehensible sentences.

Apparently Ruby was stressed and tired from dealing with her inner demons that resurged after a recent blunder she had made. As a result, her lack of sleep plus her still present concern, were causing her to make various uncharacteristic slips.

Jaune noticed how distressed she was about her mistakes and pondered about what he could say to lift her spirits.

"H-hey… don't worry… I know I'm not the best to say it, but it's okay to make an error or two. Uh, I-I mean look at me, I make them all the time! Yet that doesn't push neither you nor the others away from me..." he smiled thankfully. "Without your support I don't know what I'd do... I think it's my time to pay you back for the help you've given me. Let me help you out"

The young man tried to seem reassuring as he puffed his chest out and gave her a thumbs up. Feeling better when he noticed a tiny smile appearing on her face.

"Besides look at the bright side, it's almost time for Weiss to come. She isn't nice with me, but she's like another person with you. And lately you've been getting along quite well. I'm sure when she arrives you'll feel better."

The boy half-joked knowing that, with the young heiress, Ruby always made an effort to serve her more cordially. But when his friend's eyes, along with her smile, dropped and she retreated to the kitchen without uttering a word, he knew he'd talked more than was necessary.

Throughout the morning, Ruby's eyes would regularly check on the clock at the cafeteria. When the clock's hands pointed at eleven o'clock her heart began to pound like crazy; although the times when Weiss had showed up at the shop early had been scarce, there was still a chance that she would show up early today, and then Ruby would have to face her.

Weiss, however, did not appear

The throbbing of her heart became stronger when the clock turned from eleven to twelve; Weiss's favorite time to arrive for her coffee.

Every time the bell by the door chimed, Ruby's breathing hitched; without fail she would turn towards the entrance with a mixture of fear and hope in her eyes. An optimistic part within her desired to find Weiss by the crystal door, while the other was utterly terrified by the prospect.

Her jumble of emotions would be temporarily appeased as soon as her eyes found out the person by the door wasn't the girl she was expecting. Even though the uncertainty persisted, her breathing would slowly go back to normal.

By the time the clock in the cafeteria struck half past twelve, Ruby's insecurity turned into worry. But when twelve turned into one, she simply... did not know how to react. There were other cases in which Weiss had showed up late; the most common being a quarter past one, other times past two due to work overload. But this felt different.

Which meant that with every passing minute Ruby grew increasingly worried by how long it was taking for the older woman to come for her daily coffee...

What if she didn't come? How would that make her feel?

Every movement by the door pulled Ruby's attention to the entrance, checking if perhaps Weiss had finally arrived. In addition, whenever she had a chance, she'd take a look at the streets from within the building, hoping to find a glimpse of the white-haired girl in the distance.

The minutes turned into hours agonizingly slow. Two in the afternoon became four at a snail's pace, and then into five. It was at that moment when Ruby's mood completely collapsed.

She felt lost; the mixture of regret, relief and exasperation swirling in her chest and stomach was frustrating her to no end. Having the latter completely empty didn't help in making the churning disappear.

This morning she had decided not to eat breakfast for the simple reason that she was not hungry enough at the time. Besides, she really wanted to get to her workplace as fast as possible, that way she'd have some time to properly deliberate what she'd say to Weiss when they met.

She also hadn't taken a single bite of food throughout her work hours because she was afraid she wouldn't be present if Weiss came by. There was no way she'd risk not being at the café in case the other woman appeared.

And as the hours went by, the continuous churn in her stomach pushed away her feeling of hunger.

Her gaze was so dull and crestfallen that even without looking at a mirror she could tell she didn't look anything like her usual self at the moment.

It didn't take long for Jaune to tell her that he could take care of both the counter and service, leaving her in charge of preparing the coffees and some light cleaning in hopes it helped her clear her mind.

Thankfully the influx of customers decreased, which made her task a lot easier than it was on a normal day.

In spite of that, even if the lack of clients was some sort of blessing, it just made Ruby's day feel like it was dragging on.

As the tranquil darkness that came with the night ate the last tinges of yellows and reds characteristic of the evening twilight, numerous musings flooded the young woman's mind.

Why, out of all possible clients she could have had, did it have to be Weiss's father?

Was this whole situation a punishment for not mentioning her sister about her nightly work?

Was this retribution for agreeing on choosing that line of work in the first place?

Maybe it was. After all, she got the necessary money to continue her studies from her work at the coffee shop, which Yang had said was more than enough help for their economy.

So, why was it that she had become so centered on earning more? Since when did the desire to help her sister pay the bills become a sin?

The questions were many, but she lacked proper answers. And she didn't know if she wanted them in the first place.

The only thing she knew was that right now she truly hated herself and her decisions.

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With nine o'clock at night on the premises, closing time arrived. Ruby tried her hardest to focus on her task of carrying out the cash desk closing at the back of the store. It was an important task, and the sooner she got it done the sooner she'd be able to leave. Her tired mind was really needing some sleep.

The characteristic sound of the door's bell echoed within the vacant cafeteria, followed up by the sound of heels against the floor's polished ceramic. Jaune, who was at the counter, raised his head and felt his stomach drop at the beautiful woman entering the shop.

The serious expression on the white-haired woman made his legs tremble and his mouth go dry.

"G-good night! Wei- I uh no no, sorry I mean what can I" he was swiftly interrupted by the heiress monotone voice.

"I need to talk to Miss Rose."

"Understood!" Jaune shrieked as he felt her uninterested gaze fall directly on his face. "But… It's uh, I mean, I'm afraid we're closing now and… uh, she well, she's at the back and-"

Weiss's withering glare worked wonders in stopping his ramble, and it had the added bonus of efficiently telling him she wasn't asking for her presence; she was demanding it. The young man quickly nodded his head and retreated to the back of the cafeteria.

With fumbling steps Jaune reached Ruby, finding she had finished the cash desk closing and was now working on cleaning, her petite hands placing the remains of coffee beans in a plastic bag would probably end up in the garbage.

"Ruby! Uhm ..." the girl turned slowly towards him, bearing such a tired expression he was surprised she wasn't falling asleep while standing. "You uhh... Miss Schnee is looking for you." he croaked out awkwardly, feeling like he was being pushed around.

"Weiss Schnee of course."

As soon as the name left his lips Ruby's eyes widened, the fatigue previously settled in them being replaced with fear and renewed apprehension. Jaune scratched his hind head uncomfortably and pointed at the front of the store with an apologetic expression.

"I'd go there if I was you. She seems to be in a hurry."

Ruby instantly obeyed and left the kitchen. As she walked through the door that connected the restaurant with the pantry, she only saw the emptiness of the establishment, but it was promptly replaced by the image of Weiss's snowy hair, pale skin and expensive dress turning her back towards the cash register.

When the beautiful woman turned her head towards her, she felt as if a gust of icy wind had hit her square, taking her oxygen with it; She was most definitely not prepared for this.

Ruby approached her, hands clasped in front of her stomach and lip softly quivering as her gaze was locked on the floor in an attempt to avoid the clear blue eyes and unexpressive expression. Maybe if she didn't look at her face she'd be able to diminish how bothering her own presence was for the other woman.

When Ruby's stare lifted a couple of centimeters, she was met with the image of Weiss raising her index finger in front of her.

"I have to talk to you for a minute."

"We uhm, are closing right now, but I mean it, uh, in a moment I'll finish and then we can-" Ruby's voice, which came out as a nervous stutter, was silenced when Weiss furrowed her eyebrows at her answer. She admitted she was looking for an excuse to give herself a minute or two to remember the proper explanation she had come up with, but it wasn't a lie that she had to finish her work as soon as possible.

"Now."

Weiss commanding tone left no room for discussion as the woman turned around, not bothering with Ruby's answer as she headed to the table closest to the door; it was one of those tables placed beside the wide windows leading outside. The pieces of wooden furniture were arranged so that it was almost impossible to look at anything other than the person sitting at the front, or the streets outside.

It was the same table where Ruby remembered Weiss had sat down the day she seemed so heartbreakingly gloomy.

Timidly Ruby came out from behind the counter, following Weiss at a slower pace. Her vision was constantly dancing between the woman's back and the clean floor beneath their feet, lacking the courage to raise her head and look directly at her figure.

When she heard the sound of a chair moving, she found that the other woman was already sitting. Clumsily, she did the same and sat in front of her. Her hands her fidgeting on her lap and her eyes still guiltily avoiding the penetrating gaze examining her every movement.

A few seconds passed in which none of them made any noise or spoke a word.

But the silence was cut short when Weiss put her left hand on the table and took a slow breath.

"Why?"

Ruby's gaze lifted slightly, fixed on Weiss's fair neck. She wanted to speak back, to look her in the eye and explain her side of the night, but the more she tried to look at her eyes and properly answer, the less her body was willing to collaborate.

She didn't know if it was because she didn't have the courage to do it, or because she didn't really know how to answer the question. Why what exactly?

Not receiving an answer, Weiss's expression remained stoic. Unhurriedly opening her mouth for her second question.

"How much did he pay you?"

A strong chill ran down Ruby's back, reaching every part of her body. The sensation was so strong it forced her to finally look directly at Weiss. Their eyes met, and she opened her mouth to no avail. No answer came out of her.

She bit her lip hard and, though her eyes were once again back on the table, her gaze was resolute. If she didn't try her hardest now, the brittle foundations of their friendship would fall apart. She had to force the words to come out of her mouth.

"The nor-" she flinched when her answer felt short, the sentence feeling too wrong to be said.

Weiss waited for her to finish but quickly gave up on receiving a proper answer. Not like she needed it; she'd heard enough to intuit the rest.

A scraping sound, akin to a pen writing on paper, caught back Ruby's attention.

It quickly came to a halt, followed by the louder sound of paper being thorn away delicately. When she was starting to catch up with what was happening Ruby saw Weiss carefully folding the paper in her hands.

"Get the check. Do not approach my father."

Weiss's hand moved forward, pushing the folded rectangular paper across the table with her index and middle finger until it was left right in front of Ruby.

"Ever again."

With nothing else to say, the young heiress stood up from her seat, turned around without sparing her another glance, and headed towards the door leading outside.

Stunned, Ruby observed the paper without fully understanding what had just happened, her mind was working too slow for her to keep up with Weiss's actions.

Mere seconds later she instinctively turned her head towards the establishment's door, her mind screaming to going after the heiress even with the nervous tension weighting her down, and her breathing hitched.

But it was too late.

The door closing due to its weight was the only thing Ruby found when she looked at the entrance.

Placing a hand on her chest while the other tiredly held her head she did her best to breathe, then again it was incredibly hard knowing she had not been able to form any coherent sentence, much less properly apologize.

In fact, just remembering Weiss's toneless voice, lacking the friendly pitch it formerly carried, upset her.

Her previous fear had been well-placed; she had messed up badly.

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Fierrin: So. We are back. The last time we published was almost three years ago in Love Live. We decided, a couple of weeks ago to just write a fanfiction because, I, read a so poorly written one with a so-so same thematic, that I tell Sati "You know what? We could write something better" Three weeks later, with a lot of anxiety we are here. For those who don't know, English is not our first language, and in fact Sati took all the work of translating everything I wrote to English, so please praise the egomaniac that is inside of her. With nothing more to add, we have at least planned out until half the story, and already envisioned until two more chapters on the road. We don't know how much time we will take to write, but every comment encourages us to continue.

Enjoy, and see you next time.

Sati: Why you gotta be so rude~ . Regardless of Fierrin's desire to be a dick, I'm honestly glad we finally managed to publish something again. We usually come up with a ton of ideas but never manage to get it on paper since we… uh, I get distracted quite easily. We've really put a lot of effort in planning this work's current and future structure, so hopefully you stick with us till the end. You may get mad at us in various points of the story, but uh... (without spoiling) some stuff is not as it seems. Any piece of advice towards the writing structure and grammar is appreciated.


	2. On my Downward Spiral

"by… Ruby… ¡Ruby Rose!"

Ruby was startled the moment she heard her name being yelled at the front of the classroom. She quickly lifted her head from her notebook, removed her right earphone and in less than a second stood up rigidly, looking at the origin of the shout with embarrassment.

"S-sorry! I uh- was distracted and I didn't remember my name was at the middle of the list. And-"

Before the words continued to rapidly spill from her mouth, the man at the front made a simple gesture with his hand, telling her to step forward. She nodded and swallowed apprehensively, taking tiny yet quick steps until she reached the desk of the man who called her attention.

The uncomfortable feeling of her classmate's stares made her skin crawl.

"Ms. Rose…" his wrinkled yet calloused hand extended towards her with a bunch of stapled sheets gripped between his fingers. "Here you go."

She curiously took the thick stack of papers in her hand, turning them around to find a bright red 96 circled on the upper right corner.

"Excellent, as always, Ms. Rose. There were a couple of explanations that could have been better with the incorporation of formal language, but I was quite impressed by the evidence proving that the current Dust assembly parts used in most of Vale could be optimized up to a 20% just by following your proposed design from last year."

"Oh!" Ruby stood still, totally stunned by what was in her hands, mostly because she had completely forgotten about her project. The project which had taken her weeks, almost months, to gather the necessary information to carry out the analysis. It was a surprise how easily it had slipped from her mind when just the previous week it had been the only thing she could think of.

"Thanks Dr. Kanthal" she sent the man with slicked black hair a tiny smile. Her feet were ready to carry her back to her seat, but his gruff voice stopped her in her tracks.

"Is everything alright?"

Ruby lifted her stare from the notes written on her project, meeting the dull orange hues of her professor's inquisitive eyes. His eyebrows were slightly raised in question and the smile in his face did a poor job of hiding his worry.

"In recent lectures you've been very silent. I'm aware you don't usually talk with your classmates, but in general your participation has been inexistent this week. Quite an anomaly. I don't mean to pry, but is there a reason for this?"

The man in his fifties leaned forward, every angle of his posture making Ruby feel as if she was in some kind of questioning. She scratched her neck awkwardly, turning her eyes away from his in fear he could discover what had happened just from looking at her, and nervously chuckled.

"Not at all!" she shrieked loudly and had to resist the urge to flinch as the students who had already lost interest in her turned back towards the front with an amused glint in their eyes.

"I m-mean, yes! It's just that, lately my work in the morning is more tiring than usual, and since we just finished partials I was extremely worried about my grades. I know that I always do well, but you know what they say: you can never be complacent… Right? So~"

Ruby looked around the room and noticed some of her classmates were still looking at her, entertained by her long ramble. The words died on her lips as she dejectedly sighed. She just couldn't help it. She'd love to blame it on her recent lack of sleep, but this always happened whenever she was caught off guard and had to explain herself.

"Sorry… It… it won't happen again."

The man in front of her softened his posture and shook his head lightly.

"On the contrary I apologize. It seems my intentions were misunderstood. I wasn't complaining, I was worried my lessons were no longer thought-provoking for the best student in the class." his stance relaxed, and he faked hurt in his usually hard expression.

"What! No way! Your class's the best Dr. Kanthal!" Ruby instinctively exclaimed, worried she had given off the impression the class was not worth her time. Which only caused the older man in front of her to heartily snicker at her reaction.

"You flatter me Mrs. Rose." the seriousness reflected on the bright silvery hues of Ruby's eyes made it clear his student wasn't joking. "Look, I know you have your reasons. But I want you to be aware that bringing out our worries to someone else can be soothing on its own… And about your project, if you have no questions about your mark you're free to leave."

Ruby felt the tension leave her body, she'd always find Dr. Kanthal's laugh very uplifting, and his comment about being the best in the class honestly made her giddy with delight. She turned around with an energetic nod and went to grab her red and black backpack at the back of the classroom.

Once all her belongings were safely put inside she headed to the door at the front of the classroom. "Have a good weekend Dr." she quietly said her farewell and left the room without looking at the rest of the classroom, after all, it wasn't like there was anyone else who she had to say goodbye.

As she stepped outside the classroom, she noticed that the ample hallways of the university, were lacking the normal number of students they typically harbored at morning. But considering there were only a handful of evening courses it wasn't very unusual, after all the ones that finished at night, just like Dr. Kanthal's, were much less. She had finished half an hour earlier than usual, the time at her scroll marking 8:27p.m. which meant she'd be able to lay on her bed for a longer period of time.

Just what her mind needed. Having a whole extra 30 or so minutes of being alone with her intrusive thoughts. Why couldn't her brain let her rest?

She never thought a day would come when she'd hate having more free time on her bed after a whole day of being occupied.

While crossing the university's gates, she felt the cool breeze of Vale's night caress her skin. It was a gentle wind that spoke of the first days of autumn. It was not Ruby's favorite season, but it meant that her birthday was close, and with it the second partial exams.

She put on her headphones and tapped the play icon in her scroll, her ears welcoming the rhythmic sounds coming from the old device. If she remembered correctly a bus would come to the nearest bus stop pretty soon, so she immediately headed to the rudimentary shelter just a block away from the main building.

If the traffic was mild, and the vehicle didn't take much time, it was likely that she would arrive around 9:20pm or 9:30pm at home. Which meant she'd be able to spend quality time with Yang before her older sister left for work. If she had luck maybe they could watch half a movie or a couple of episodes of a series together.

She really needed something like that right now.

It wasn't really about missing Yang or wanting to watch something in particular. None of those were her reasons.

She just wanted... to be in touch with another person.

That was what she needed.

By the time her contemplation was over, she found herself already sitting at the bus stop, waiting alone for the large vehicle to arrive. But then, she felt a familiar vibration inside the pockets of her skirt. The music coming from her headphones stopped, replaced by the ringing tune she had chosen for her scroll.

Ruby took out the small holographic tablet, looked at the caller ID glowing on her scroll with her eyebrows furrowed and groaned, she didn't really want to have this conversation now, but she knew that continuing to avoid the caller would only worsen her situation.

"H-hello?"

"Do you have any idea how many times I've called you already Red?" a charming yet livid voice spoke venomously from the other side. As expected, Roman Torchwick, her boss in her second work, was quite angry about being ignored for 3 days.

"I hope you haven't forgotten that not only do I have a business to maintain, but also that you're an important part of it. I am well aware you're a child, but I'd appreciate it if you stopped acting like one." the man at the other side of the call chastised her just as she had predicted he would.

The auburn-haired man took a deep puff of air from what Ruby supposed was his habitual cigar and exhaled slowly, a habit she had already learnt to associate with him switching to professional mode.

"Look, I've got your pay from your work on Saturday. And as usual Oscar came today asking for you. I had to tell him you wouldn't be available, but perhaps you'll have time on Sunday, tell me otherwise if that's not the case. With that settled, do you want me to pay you for both days at the same time or will you come for your money anytime soon?" he asked with an uninterested voice, expertly pushing aside his previous anger like the businessman he was.

Ruby closed her eyes and prepared herself for the talk she already knew was coming her way.

"I don't know… I've been having doubts about continuing with this line of work."

3… 2… 1…

"Are you that foolish?" There it was. "You're actually the only escort girl in the business who has a 'no sex-y stuff' policy." he mimicked her high-pitched embarrassed voice in a mocking tone "and for some reason still gets habitual clients who're fine with paying just for having you running off at the mouth and looking pretty. It's almost unfair how much you earn while religiously sticking to the innocent part of job." he huffed annoyed.

"I know I know but…" she bit her lower lip debating whether she should talk him back. "Ugh, why didn't you tell me my client was Mr. Schnee?" she asked throwing her doubts aside. It was honestly a question of which she already knew the answer, but she couldn't help it. She knew Roman saw her like a kid and wouldn't think much of her outburst other than it being displeasing to his ears, so in a way she took the chance and partially vent her anger on him.

"Red, you're always pestering me about wanting to meet your clients firsthand in person. Why would it matter now?" Ruby could perfectly picture the man in his elegant suit roll his eyes at her.

"It matters because I know her daughter in person, and said daughter was at the party!" she spoke her frustrations while whining like a kid. She was aware that she'd tick off the other man by using that tone of voice, but she couldn't help it, after all he was the only person who fully knew of her work.

"Oh Dust, she must think I'm some gold-digging teenager taking advantage of her father's fortune."

"Or worse." the man chuckled at her distress at the other side of the line, causing her to inwardly cringe. She honestly hadn't even considered that possibility.

"Weiss wouldn't think that of me… She… she knows me." she tried to make her voice sound convincing, but it was instead filled with worry and self-doubt.

"Oh~ Does she Red?" his amused voice heightened the uncertainty spreading inside her.

Why had she forgotten just how crude and mocking Roman could get whenever she purposefully annoyed him?

"I-I…" she sighed gloomily, finding it impossible to come up with an assuring answer to his question. "I think she won't ever talk to me again…" she could hear her voice cracking at the prospect and had to fight the urge of hanging the call. Not being able to even see Weiss was a downer, and having her boss laughing about it didn't help at all.

The man in his early thirties was silent for a moment until a grumble escaped his lips. "Red, I get it if you think I look like someone _very_ understanding, but you have to remember that above all I'm your boss; Not your friend and definitely not your therapist…"

Ruby let her shoulders slump downward, he really had no qualms about being brutally honest with her. Maybe it was better to just end the call. "But… I guess Neo wouldn't mind hearing you out. I mean, she can't even interrupt yo-" his sentence was cut by a loudly yelp of pain coming from his own mouth.

"Ouch! Sheesh, you know I was just joking! What if you leave a bruise on my beautiful arm?"

Neo had unquestionably been there to hear him and most probably punched his arm. It was always a mystery for her how someone so small could be so strong. Nevertheless, Ruby had to admit that Roman's hot and cold attitude and his interaction with the other woman managed to bring a smile out of her face.

She's been thinking about talking with Blake… but Neo was also a viable option.

"Anyways Red, you know I'm joking. I'm sure anyone who's seen you is painfully aware that you're a child. And about the work, I'd honestly tell you to reconsider your decision. However, if you want to quit you're free to do so as long as you follow the proper procedure. I'll give you a week for you to make up your mind. Feel free to come for your money whenever you want." he spoke with the most earnest tone of voice Ruby had ever heard him talk.

"Oh and, don't even think of ignoring my calls ever again or I'll send Neo your way. Ta-ta."

And he hung up without waiting for her answer. Her boss sure was a mixture of weird, crude and blunt, but she liked to think that deep down he was looking out for every person who worked with him. Though he definitely liked to act like he didn't, unless you were called Neo, of course.

When the call ended, Ruby dedicated a couple of seconds to digest the content of the conversation. Taking a deep breath, she let the dry air calm her nerves. Once she finished taking mental notes of the various decisions she'd soon have to take involving her second work and the relentless thoughts swimming in her head regarding a pretty white-haired woman, she set out to hear her music once again.

When she looked at her left side, she found the bus was coming close to the stop and instinctively made a small gestured to the driver.

Seems like she'd be arriving home early.

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The bus stop near her home was a couple of minutes away from her destination. It would be lovely if the metallic pole and sign was located in the corner of the block where she lived, yet she was aware it was difficult for it to happen in the suburb where she was at.

Ruby looked up and could see the starry night that bathed her with the silvery light of the waning moon. She smiled at the view, although it didn't seem like it, she profoundly enjoyed where her home was since it made it possible for her to gaze at the stars. When night came, and she found herself at the city center she was rarely able to even spot any twinkling on the sky.

Turning her attention back to the street, she began to walk in the direction of her house. It was just a couple of streets away; she would probably arrive before the song that had just started playing on her phone came to an end.

As she advanced, with each step small thoughts began to flood Ruby's mind. What would she have for dinner today? Would she choose cookie cereal or go for the elegant simplicity of cookies with milk? Both were pretty solid decisions.

Maybe, if her sister hadn't had dinner yet, Yang could take the cereal, she'd have the cookies and the two of them would share the milk and their respective dinner. Ruby nodded to herself while deep in thought, she had to admit sometimes her genius surprised her. That way they could both go to the living room to watch a movie and have dinner at the same time.

They just needed to have enough milk.

Honestly she could eat the cookies by themselves. The great thing about the sugary treats was that they were delicious with or without milk.

But cookies were definitely best accompanied with warm milk.

Everything was best accompanied. In fact, the cookies would be undeniably thrilled if the milk decided to accompany them.

… But the cookies had gone out with the milk's father and now she hated the cookies.

Ruby stopped dead in her tracks, facing the door of the humble single-story house that was her home. This was no longer about dinner; her mind had again managed to twist her random thoughts into her belief that Weiss now hated her guts.

She took deep breath through her nose and raised her head, trying to calm the disarray of feelings plaguing her, doing her best to place them the furthest away from her mind as she could, driving them to the bottom of her being, enough so they wouldn't bother her until she was on her bed about to go to sleep.

She introduced the key of the house in the door lock and turned it, gaining access to the modest home and quickly throwing her backpack to the armchair at the living room as soon as she entered.

"Yang! I'm home!" the dark-haired teenager yelled as she took her headphones off and coiled them around her scroll, putting them away.

"Rubes! Can you come to the kitchen please?"

The young girl arched an eyebrow but still walked the small distance between the living room at the entrance and the kitchen. There she found her older sister with her back turned towards her, the gold of her long and beautiful hair was held in a high ponytail that let her cook without fear of dirtying it.

"You're cooking? Really?" she asked with disbelief.

"Yes! I thought I'd be a good idea to have dinner together. You know how hard it's for the two of us to be together for dinner, especially on weekends."

"Please tell me it wasn't something hard to prepare."

The blonde woman turned around, revealing an apron with traces of flour and a red substance she couldn't quite identify. With a worried expression she looked at her sister's hand and then pointed at the red spots.

"That… isn't yours right?"

Yang turned to look at herself and shook her head with an amused smile.

"Is it blood?" she asked, not sure if she wanted to hear the answer.

"Sheesh, you sure trust me Rubes. I'm not going to poison you, y'know?" the older woman crossed her arms and faked an expression of hurt.

"I know~ but…" the younger woman pouted and got closer to the person who she always associated with warmth and protection… as long as it had nothing to do with feeding her. She moved aside the soiled cloth covering her torso before settling between her strong arms, enjoying how it felt to be safely embraced. "the last time the chicken was undercooked... Not to mention its taste."

"Hey! And here I thought you were on cute mode" she separated her younger sister enough to look at her eyes and pursed her lips childishly. "Besides, the recipe said 20 minutes on low heat.

Ruby chuckled at her sister's attempt to justify her lack of cooking skills "Fine, fine. I believe you" she patted her head almost as if she was an overgrown puppy.

Gosh, she really needed this.

Yang's stare suddenly shifted to the door frame, and a mischievous smile Ruby didn't expect popped up in her face. "Besides, this time I got a helping paw." Yang winked at her while gesturing at the door with her head.

"I was going to apologize for interrupting but, helping paw? Really Yang?"

When Ruby turned to the source of the voice she spotted a female figure perching somewhat uncomfortably at the entrance to the kitchen. The young woman, taller than Ruby, but a couple of inches lower than Yang, arched an eyebrow in disbelief. If Ruby hadn't known her as she did, she wouldn't have noticed the inconspicuous shadow of a smile present on her face as she looked at her sister.

She stood in place until Yang signaled her to approach them, a giant grin present on her face when she heard her reaction to her 'brilliant' play of words.

"Blake!" Ruby exclaimed bouncily "You had the patience to endure not only Yang's silly jokes but also the mess she makes in the kitchen? Even I have trouble with an afternoon filled with that. No offense." she quickly beamed at her sister when the blonde woman turned at her with an insulted look on her face.

"I can live knowing I can't cook. But having my own blood rejecting my beautiful puns? Ouch! The betrayal hurts~" Yang dramatically released Ruby and leaned on the counter holding a hand above her chest while whining.

Blake rolled her eyes amused by their antics while Ruby indulged her sister in her little drama. The young faunus sat at the table and waited for the two sisters to finish their exchange before speaking.

"It wasn't much Ruby, just making sure nothing was raw." she shrugged nonchalantly.

"See? I'm not that ba-"

"I may have had to tell her to cook the ground beef longer a time or two since she wanted to take it out being half-raw. But it's not that big of a deal."

"Blake! You didn't have to tell her that!" she face-palmed, hearing Ruby's bubbly laugh followed up by Blake's quiet giggle filled the kitchen. Pretty soon Yang found herself also chuckling about the small incident.

For Ruby it was a scene difficult to explain, but when the three of them talked and bantered with each other a feeling of warmth filled her chest. Something about these interactions always managed to brighten her day.

The three of them continued chatting amicably and teasing each other for the rest of the dinner, Ruby barely realized that the last rays of the sun's light of the afternoon had turned into the characteristic darkness of the night in what she felt like the blink of an eye.

Apparently when Yang decided to make dinner she conveyed to Blake her desire to elaborate a delicious dish for her younger sister after her hard work during her exams. Several questions given by the black-haired woman about the preparation process later, Yang was basically begging for her help to prevent the two sisters from ending up in the hospital for food poisoning.

Unsurprisingly, the cat faunus accepted her plea on the condition that she was also invited to taste the dinner they'd prepare together. Neither Yang nor Blake had to say anything for the young teenager to know both of them were more than happy to oblige.

It was funny just how deep Blake had entered their lives, yet Ruby couldn't pinpoint when and how it slowly happened.

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Almost two years ago a random day at the middle of breakfast her older sister had glossed over a 'pretty' customer with black hair and golden eyes that came to her bar. Fast forward a couple of weeks later, when the woman was already a regular at her place, and some sort of issue happened at the bar in which Blake was involved. Yang didn't like where the issue was heading so she decided to step in and back her up.

At the moment Blake hadn't been too happy about her 'meddling' but after Yang mentioned it was her responsibility as the place's owner to keep things under control she gave in and thanked her.

For a reason unknown to Ruby, her sister is still unwilling to share what exactly happened at the time, so she has no details about what brought them together. But since then the two of them promptly developed a close relationship.

A month after the problem at the bar was solved Yang unexpectedly organized a small gathering for just the three of them. It was the perfect chance for Ruby to finally meet the mysterious girl who somehow made her older sister livelier than usual.

When she questioned Yang about her, the blonde used the word 'mellow' to describe the unfamiliar person, and Ruby created the image of a soft, warmhearted girl in her mind. The day arrived and at the moment she saw her in person, Blake Belladonna was not what she expected.

From the distance Ruby could see she displayed a serious, reserved and cool demeanor. Moreover, the bright pastel colors her mind came up with were replaced with the darkest of colors, matching with the woman's wavy hair and the fur of her faunus ears.

Maybe Yang was talking about her personality…?

She soon found out that wasn't the case.

During their short meeting Blake didn't speak much; her sentences got straight to the point, and whenever Ruby tried to start a conversation by asking something about her, the answers were curt. Ruby was sure that if Yang hadn't been present at the time the whole exchange would've been a disaster filled with awkwardness from her part.

Frankly, she couldn't understand how someone so different from her sister ended up becoming so close to her. But it wasn't her place to question Yang's friendships.

If it made her happy that was more than enough.

Time went by and Ruby quickly got her answer: it wasn't that the difference in their personalities made it difficult for them to interact. On the contrary, those disparities added more meaning to their exchanges, improving their bond in a way that wouldn't be possible if they weren't so diverse.

It reached a point in which the comfort they built around each other was such, that one of them could start a random conversation, and if it came to an end as quickly as it began both felt at ease with the silence that ensued. Pleased with enjoying nothing but each other's presence.

Quite surprising considering Yang's general dislike towards quietness.

Of course, it was also worth mentioning the important detail that Blake not only tolerates Yang's jokes (something that even Ruby has trouble stomaching sometimes) but actually finds them amusing. In a way the woman's dry wit and sarcastic retorts fit perfectly with her sister's humor.

But it wasn't just Yang who enjoyed Blake's presence.

With each new interaction Ruby progressively figured out Blake's personality. She seemed sober and unfriendly, but really, she was an introvert. Her reserved personality and lack of words hid a facetious and friendly side shown only to the people who saw past her barriers. And Ruby loved every second of discovering new things about her.

Especially since the only older person who had consistently been present in her life had been Yang. With Blake being so much time at their little home there was now someone else who entered her tiny family circle.

In a way it was like having two older sisters, just that her interactions with each one was very different from the other.

Blake didn't enjoy Dungeons & Dragons nor knew about engineering as she did, but then again neither did Yang, so she was fine with it. However, unlike her rambunctious sister, and just like herself, the young woman loved reading books. And lots of them. Though she had to admit Blake had far more… mature tastes than hers.

Nevertheless, hearing Blake's opinions on books and other stuff, as well as talking to her about her personal interests and aspirations was a breath of fresh air that Ruby needed.

It wasn't like Yang disliked hearing Ruby's rants about stuff she loved, on the contrary, she happily made time in her tight schedule to hear her out even if she couldn't quite understand what Ruby talked about most of the time.

But it felt different with Blake since she didn't have any moral obligation to hear her out. Regardless, she'd listen attentively and share her opinion when she felt it was necessary. Also, unlike Yang who'd hold her tongue since Ruby was her 'baby-sis', Blake always spoke her mind whether or not it was something Ruby wished to hear.

There was also the fact that, even though Ruby and Yang were incredibly close, the closest relationship Ruby ever managed to build actually, there were still more than a few edges that could be smoothed in their relationship. Which made it hard for her to open up with her sister about certain topics for several reasons.

Said edges weren't particularly rough, but for Ruby they were hurdles to overcome.

She'd always been hyper, but with her sister being the very definition of outgoing sometimes it was demanding to keep up with her. She tried hard not to focus on what set her apart from her family. But somehow when things went wrong, she always found herself going back to it.

Yang, Tai and to a certain extent Qrow had no problem with mingling with people. In contrast she was always a blabbering mess that couldn't hold a conversation for dear life. The thought that something was wrong with her for being so socially awkward was always gnawing at the back of her head.

How could Yang possibly understand her problems with people when they were so different in that aspect?

In addition, with each passing year Ruby progressively acknowledged the hardships of being forced to grow up due to circumstances. But it wasn't through her experience that she did so, but by watching Yang.

She'd told herself that it was just her anxiety, but there were times in which her head whispered maliciously that Yang was a victim to her presence. That if she wasn't there Yang could've had enjoyed her teenage years and not suffer from so many responsibilities. And every so often the whispers were so convincing she had a hard time disbelieving them.

The immense guilt she felt at those times made it hard for her to look at Yang in the eye knowing she had willingly sacrificed so much for her since they were younger. Inconveniencing her with her silly problems was not something she wanted to do.

With Blake she didn't have these obstacles.

Just like her, the young woman wasn't fond of social activities and had some difficulties in expressing herself. She even confided in Ruby and told her she was once in the dark, ashamed of being a faunus, ashamed of herself and her decisions. Angry with the world and how it worked.

"It sucked to be that way. Whenever I looked at what surrounded me I only found imperfections. It reached a point in which I did things I still regret to this day…" her ears dropped sadly. The last bit piqued Ruby's curiosity, but by the look on Blake's face it was a question best left unsaid.

"I failed to notice that it isn't the world that's imperfect, but the people in it. Just like you and me. Everyone has traits which they may find… undesirable at the time." she instinctively passed her hands over the top of her hair.

"But those traits aren't the problem; it is our rejection towards them. If we just treated each other and ourselves with more kindness the world could be better. After all, how can it be wrong to be who you are?" for the first time in the conversation she sent her a smile.

"I know it's hard to get it now. Sometimes I still have trouble with it, and I don't know if I'll ever fix my mistakes of the past. But I can confidently tell you you're fine being who you are Ruby, you don't have to be like Yang." her gaze softened noticeably when the name left her lips.

"You know your sister better than anyone, she'll always love you and do her best to help you regardless of how good or bad you are with people... She'll come to understand you if you talk it out with each other. And most of all, I'm sure she wouldn't change you for anything in the world."

When she first came for advice with Blake she didn't expect to be wondered by how mature she was.

"_Mellow_"

She remembered Yang's words months back and finally found the meaning behind them.

Unlike her, Blake hadn't focused on who she'd never be, she embraced every bit of her physique, nature and character. She accepted who she was. That didn't mean the young woman wasn't striving to become a better version of herself, but she'd learned to be comfortable with herself. And it brought her hope knowing that she thought Ruby could do the same.

"Do you … You mean it?" at the time she asked with a soft voice, almost afraid that Blake would tell her it was all a joke.

"Of course. You're strong Ruby, more than you think. And you have Yang by your side. Believe me when I tell you she makes liking yourself just… a bit easier". the softness in her expression at that moment was one Ruby had only seen her wear when the young woman spent a lot of time with Yang.

It was a look that spoke volumes of Blake's feelings towards the blonde woman.

So loudly that even Ruby in her obliviousness was able to distinguish it.

And she smiled happily in return.

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Yang always said that Blake came to them like a confident stray you become fond of, appearing in front of them on a whim and entering their daily life as if she'd always been there.

And honestly, as she found Yang and Blake giving each other their habitual looks while bantering mid-dinner, Ruby wouldn't have it any other way.

Besides the lasagna was good dish, delicious even! She had to admit that Yang had far surpassed her merits. Seems that as long as Blake was present she'd be able to gladly eat whatever her sister made.

As she happily finished the rest of the food on her plate Yang's scroll began to ring. Her surprised expression the moment she looked at the contact on the bright screen was easy to read, and she politely excused herself from the table to take the call.

Blake and Ruby looked at each other knowing that the call probably meant dinner was over and in a silent agreement decided to start cleaning the table and kitchen so that it would be clean by the time Yang ended her call.

As Ruby put away the leftovers in the fridge Blake started to wash the dishes they had used.

"Was Yang actually the one who prepared dinner?"

Blake's faunus ears twitched in recognition of Ruby's inquisitive comment. She turned towards her, the golden accents of her eyes glinting with a hint of amusement and a snarky smirk settled on her face.

"I assure you she made _most_ of it."

Ruby giggled knowing Blake must have had supervised Yang during the whole process for the lasagna to end up not undercooked or burnt.

"She…" Blake voice lost its playful tone as she turned back to the faucet, which made it difficult for Ruby to look at her face. "She said she wanted to make something special for you."

Ruby watched Blake's back carefully, barely shifting as she continued scrubbing the food od their plates. No matter how good Blake was at maintaining a neutral tone in her voice, Ruby could feel where this was heading, and her expression of happiness was soon replaced by one of discomfort.

She held her tongue in an attempt to make the conversation shift back to a more lighthearted tone. Blake closed the water faucet and took her time to dry her hand with a small towel. And Ruby knew from her expression when she turned back to her, that the older woman was gathering her thoughts and there was no way she'd avoid whatever this talk would be.

"…Ruby" her softened voice called her name to grab her attention, it oddly lacked Blake's usual confidence and sounded like she wanted to avoid the topic.

"I noticed you were silent at dinner. Even as we poked fun at Yang you seemed… kind of down. She also mentioned she has seen you antsy lately."

The younger woman looked up and found gilded eyes examining her. If Ruby's expression could be described as a clear brooding loneliness, Blake's was more like a guarded concern disguised with contemplation.

The faunus wanted to find out what had caused the younger member of the house to look so abandoned, but at the same time felt it wasn't her place to pry unless Ruby wished to open up with her. Perhaps not even if the younger woman did so.

It was ironic. She never meant to get along with Yang when she first decided to approach her. And now she found herself, afraid to admit it openly, but fully aware that she'd reached the point where she even had developed a soft spot for the blonde's little sister.

It was problematic to say the least; every time she felt she was forming a meaningful bond with them her mind would remind her of the pain she would inevitably inflict sooner or later. And so, she would again force herself to cut the growing attachment towards both women, instead keeping them at an arm's length.

Or at least attempting to do so since they made it incredibly difficult. She'd already failed numerous times.

While Blake held her inner debate, Ruby was pondering whether it was the right thing to talk about her most recent problem. And if it was, how much could she let up on her secretiveness on the topic.

She knew Blake was trustworthy, after all she had already trusted her with far more serious stuff about her 'distorted' view of who she was within her family. However, with how close Blake and Yang were becoming, she was scared her sister would indirectly find out about the stuff she'd been hiding and feel betrayed, just like Weiss probably felt.

Nevertheless, she pushed through.

"I… took a bad decision."

Ruby's eyes stayed on Blake, somewhat narrowing as she said those words cautiously.

"Scratch that… I took many bad decisions."

Finishing her sentence Ruby wasn't able to keep gazing into Blake's bright eyes, turning completely towards the table to avoid looking at her. She felt as if the older woman could look into her eyes and uncover every bad decision and mistake she'd made.

The sound of the small towel being placed on the counter and a steady breath being inhaled hit Ruby's ears. Blake let the sound of her steps ring within the small kitchen as she slowly approached the hunched figure, letting her intentions be known so that the other girl could stop her if she became uncomfortable with her presence.

"Do you wish to talk about that?"

Ruby licked her lips and turned her head slightly to the right side, again creating an intangible distance between her and Blake; she really didn't want her to see her eyes at all.

"I hurt a friend…"

When Blake nodded in understanding Ruby took a huge breath, lifted her head up and held onto every single thought that brought her an almost uncontrollable feeling of shame and fear, every troubling emotion she had experienced during the week and the anguish that she felt that was caused by the incident on Saturday.

Then, she let it out.

"And I know that, if she never wants to see me again, it should be fine because it was my fault to begin with. But… I don't want to lose her friendship. I don't know I… ugh… kind of thought we could become close friends or something. But I also know that she and I are like worlds apart in basically everything so it wouldn't have worked out. And yet… before I messed up, I thought 'Does that even matter?'. Because it seemed like we were getting along… and then I went and"

The young woman took a deep breath, trying to collect as much oxygen as she could in her system as a way to avoid revealing something, she was better off not mentioning _that_ "did something that looks really, really wrong."

Ruby could feel as if the silence that came after expressing all her feelings extended too much, eternally even. When the last words came out of her mouth, she found her breathing had become a little less controlled to the point she had started panting mid explanation.

Blake's hand fell on her left shoulder surprising her in the process; the unfamiliar sensation of her palm made her nervous at first, but soon the seeping warmth turned the gesture into something softer and meaningful, especially since Blake wasn't once to initiate physical contact.

"At times... mistakes are made. We follow on decisions that end up making us feel everything but proud, and" her hand closed gently, giving her a small squeeze "we may even hurt ourselves in the process."

Ruby looked up, turning to meet Blake's golden orbs; there she could see a foggy regret clouding the usual brightness her eyes carried.

"Or those around us."

Blake gave her a sad smile; which Ruby didn't know how to respond.

"But I know that, above all, what's most important is not the mistakes we made, but what we learned from them and how we overcome them. Which in turn, little by little, helps us reach our goal of becoming someone better. As you said, you did something that looks wrong, which means it isn't as bad as she thinks. If you explain what happened from your perspective things are bound to get better."

"But… I haven't seen her since then."

"Ruby, I doubt there's anybody in Vale that can stay angry for long at you, I'm sure she'll come around eventually."

"What do I do if she does come? I wish I knew what to say to fix things with her…"

"You're smart, I'm sure that you'll do things right… unlike others."

Ruby once again found small traces of regret on Blake's eyes and face. The young woman felt sorry for making her dig into feelings that seemed to cause her pain, so she sent her an earnest grin and placed her hand over hers in a sincere show of openness.

"Thanks Blake… I know it doesn't sound very reassuring coming from me, and I probably won't get the full picture. But I'd like you to know that just like how you help us, Yang and I are here, at any time, for whatever you need. Okay?"

The older woman's ears perked in surprise, embarrassed she had become so transparent Ruby had seen through her during their conversation and found a glimpse of vulnerability. Regardless, even as her ears dropped, she nodded thankfully at her words.

"I'll keep that in mind." Blake sent her a crooked smile that didn't quite reach her eyes and turned to leave the kitchen. "I'll go check up on Yang. I'm worried that call it's still going and it's almost time to leave."

Ruby nodded and then sat down again at the table, sprawling her upper body over the wooden surface as soon as Blake disappeared from her sight. She then let out a long sigh of contemplation mixed with relief.

The messy feelings that had been accumulating in her chest, suffocating her for days, felt less oppressive now that they were out in the open.

So, instead of wallowing in her sadness as she had done since Sunday, she decided to do what Blake told her and come up with ways to properly explain her side of the story, if Weiss ever decided to come back.

She'd also need to work on not freezing up in front of her the next time she saw her.

"I just hope Blake's right and I see her again..."

Soon after Blake hurriedly dragged off Yang to work after the blonde woman had lost track of time due to the lengthy and unexpected call. Ruby said her goodbyes and went to her room, following the plan her mind had devised to tackle both of her problems at the same time.

She embarrassedly typed into her scroll 'Weiss Schnee', repeating to herself that this wasn't a stupid idea. Immediately the search engine yielded various result ranging from information and recent news, to various pictures of the young woman that had been swirling inside her head.

Just what she needed.

After a couple of minutes of carefully searching through the net for photographs of the white-haired woman, she found one in which she was not only using a pretty elegant dress she'd once seen her use at the coffee shop, but she was also by herself.

Ruby nodded resolutely, zoomed in so that image on her scroll was centered around Weiss's hardened expression and rubbed her hands together anxiously.

"Come on Ruby you can do this… this isn't stupid"

The ticking on the clock breaking the silence in her room only served to unnerve her. For a moment it felt very real, more-so considering how empty Weiss's baby blue eyes seemed on the picture.

"Hey… Uh Weiss, It's Ruby your… coffee maker? Ugh… What am I? A machine? Again!"

The young woman turned her back towards her scroll, repeated the words she had thought inside her head and once again faced the holographic display.

"Hello Weiss! Didn't expect you to come again… Uh, not because you're not welcome it's just that you- I mean I! I screwed up but it… it isn't like that… Yep, not going to this one. Again!"

The clock continued ticking relentlessly as she practiced; minutes quickly turned into an hour and then two. Thanks to various repetitions and constant shifting through different photos of Weiss, Ruby was able to form a fairly decent train of thought with which she could explain herself without sounding too gawky.

Considering it was just her first day of 'practicing', things seemed to be on the right track in case Weiss appeared at the store again. Maybe in a day or two she could shift into hearing her recent interviews. After all it was one thing to just look at Weiss and talk to her unmoving image, hearing her melodious yet chilly voice and answering back was on another level.

A more taxing feat for her unprepared self.

Still, knowing she was working and improving towards, as Blake called it, a better version of herself, lifted her spirits enough for her to fall asleep and rest for the first time in the whole week.

Next time, she promised herself, she'd give Weiss the explanation she deserved.

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The next day she woke up feeling pumped up and energetic. The shift in her mood pushing her to prepare a simple breakfast for herself and Yang, leaving her sister's portion inside the microwave so that the older woman could heat it when she woke up.

Before she left for work, she wrote a small note with a smiley face and left it on the kitchen counter where Yang would surely see it. Just in case she was too sleepy to notice by smell she had prepared something for her.

Ruby stepped out of their home humming a tune that had been stuck in her head for weeks, the comfort of her favorite black boots working wonders on her feet when she skipped over holes and cracks on the pavement.

The walk to the bus stop at the corner was short, yet she marveled at the sounds of birds chirping and the sun's rays reflecting on shallow puddles on the sidewalk.

Who would've thought that having a positive outlook could make even the ugliest neighborhoods look pretty?

Taking the bus, she greeted the driver with a smile and decided to look through the window at the people going through their habitual mornings and the scenery of the city. It was a welcomed change from dosing off hearing music.

The tight apartments and abandoned buildings characteristic of the vicinity where they lived progressively became ample houses with pretty front yards. And by the time she noticed they were nearing her stop, the greenery of Vale's central park and the tall, imposing structures of the most important businesses maintaining Vale's economy came into view.

She could still remember how she was amazed the first time she'd seen the city's center and Beacon a couple of blocks away. This was definitely the prettiest part of Vale in her opinion.

Getting off the vehicle she spared a glance at her scroll and found out she had arrived 34 minutes earlier than expected, that explained why there wasn't much traffic at the streets and the bus's passengers all found a place to sit.

She would usually hurry to arrive at the coffee shop, but with how much time she had in her hands she decided to saunter through the open square. She raised her head and looked at the white, marble-like building two blocks away, hovering above all the others present in the city.

'Schnee Dust Company – Vale HQ' its gigantic banner red and she pursed her lips. Weiss was most likely working there at this very moment.

Ruby closed her eyes and lightly drummed both of her cheeks. Now wasn't the time for this.

After petting two or three dogs and crossing the street she finally arrived at her job. She thoroughly washed both of her hands, put on her black mandrel and started preparing everything needed to open the shop. By the time Jaune arrived she was done with their chores.

"Ruby?! What brings you here?" the surprise on her friend's face clear as day as he dropped his bag to the floor.

"Well… I do work here too, y'know?" she answered with a cheeky grin that caused Jaune to inwardly cringe and shake his head.

"No, I mean yes but… You must have been pretty early; we still have 15 minutes to work with and yet everything is already well… uh ready" he scratched his head awkwardly. "Great choice of words Jaune..."

The other girl giggled and pat his back sympathetically. "Don't worry, I've done wa~y worse, yours at least made sense. And to answer your question, I just had a good night sleep and ended arriving too early. So, I said, why not? Might as well do something useful with my time." she shrugged nonchalantly, a tiny smile adorning her lips.

"Seems like it was a great rest." with Ruby's words and friendly gesture Jaune's troubled expression quickly shifted into an honest grin that helped him look more confident. The coffee shop just wasn't the same without his colleague's bubbly energy. And considering it'd been almost a week of finding out a pretty dampened Ruby working like a zombie, seeing her regain her spark had him overjoyed.

"You bet. Hadn't slept that well in what felt like…" Ruby pondered for a moment but soon gave up. "Pffff weeks. I had lots of stuff in my mind and…" she made swirling motions with her hands at the side of her head and stuck out her tongue. "I almost went crazy from overthinking. Sorry about you know… Everything since… yeah." the roundabout apology dredging up the topic both had been avoiding since Weiss left the store on Monday.

Realizing she'd made things a bit uncomfortable Ruby coughed into her hand and puffed her chest, draping an arm over Jaune's shoulder with more difficulty than she expected. "But uhm, you know what they say; preparation is key Jaune my boy! It brings tranquility to old hearts such as mine" she faked an old masculine voice and caressed an invisible moustache above her lips while dramatically looking at the horizon

"Wait what? Who says that?" the whiplash from her eccentric characterization couple with the sudden change in the direction of their conversation was evident in Jaune's puzzled expression. The way he couldn't feign it at all almost made her burst out laughing, but she was able to feign ignorance.

"Uhhh I don't know… Probably heard it from a game…" she closed her eyes trying to seem wise and nodded to herself. "Well it's not important. What I'm trying to say is, you won't see me almost breaking the cutlery ever again… I hope." she added as an afterthought with a sheepish look on her face. "Wouldn't want another subtraction to my check."

Jaune let the topic slide and instead snorted almost sarcastically. Everyone knew it wasn't like Ruby would mess up if her head wasn't in the clouds. He picked up his backpack from the floor and headed to the pantry knowing what would happen as soon as he said what he'd kept from his younger friend.

"Don't worry about that, I already told the chief I'd be paying if anything was accidently broken." Sure, he was technically fleeing from her, but it was better to avoid the questions coming from the 'heroic' coffee maker who was perfectly fine with taking the blame for others but wasn't comfortable when someone else did it for her.

"You what?! Jaune wait!"

There she was at it again.

"Hey stop!" Ruby appeared in front of him in an instant, her smaller frame doing what it could to block the entrance to the pantry by extending her arms, legs and even her neck.

After months of being friends and working together, Jaune was pretty sure she must have some kind of dust-enhanced shoes to be that quick.

"What do you mean you would pay? If something was broken and it was my fault it should be **me **who end ups paying. Not you." she crossed her arms and angrily pouted her lips at her older friend, who could only roll his eyes amused by the irony.

"You see, I have an acquaintance, more like my close buddy, who I really appreciate. And she has taken the blame for me a few times… Actually, a bunch… I can't even count them." he muttered under his breath mortified. "Case in point, what kind of friend do you think I'd be if I couldn't repay her kindness when I have the chance?"

Still, Ruby didn't seem convinced, arching an eyebrow at him.

Well if Jaune wasn't capable of reaching her, then… He adjusted the collar of his head and made the movements of his body seem more elegant and measure, basically completely unlike his usual self.

"She is quite an independent lassie sir; one must take any chance to help her for the simple reason that this girl is awfully hard-headed. Doesn't give much openings for fine gentlemen such as I to come to her aid." he made up a modulated, rough voice that scratched at his throat and caressed an invisible long beard with his fingers.

Ruby couldn't withhold her proud smile, playfully shoving Jaune "I know that's not from a game. You're just flaunting how good you are at roleplaying."

"Hey! I still have my doubts about your performance being from an actual game. Is that a future NPC or something?" he went back to his usual self with an inquisitive overly dramatic pose.

"Not telling~" Ruby stuck out her tongue jokingly. "However, I'll be generous enough to forgive your impertinence Mr. Arc. But then again, next time be kind enough to notify me of your actions." she faked a masculine bow and stepped into the back of the store having come to accept Jaune's decision.

"Aye aye, Mr. Rose." Jaune answered back with his normal voice and a military pose that made absolutely no sense within their 'established narrative'. But he couldn't help doing it, it was too funny how those 'cringy' discrepancies managed to baffle so much his younger friend.

"I don't even know what's the worst out of what you just did." Ruby covered her face with her hands and dragged them downwards, lightly pulling her pale skin with a groan. Whenever Jaune messed with her this way it hurt her to know that even though he was the best of the party at roleplaying, he used his 'powers' for this type of stuff.

"Stop causing me pain and bring your butt here. See? We were so engrossed with talking it's almost time to open." she pointed at the clock and chuckled at how the teasing spark in his deep blue eyes was substituted with terror.

"R-right away!" he scampered into the pantry and began putting, backwards if she may add, his black apron.

Silly boy, he should've seen the clock.

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The day started slow but bright, there weren't a lot of clients and those that came were a pleasant presence and easy to deal with. It almost seemed like the day was trying to be the best it could just for Ruby.

Orders went out quickly, the smell of coffee filled the air without becoming overbearing and both Jaune and she were in a steady rhythm where neither of them made mistakes in their respective tasks.

In a way it was very satisfying to find out she could go back to her previous, easy-going routine after how stressful the week had been. Sure, she still missed the hidden friendliness behind clear blue eyes, the snowy white hair that was always properly arranged in a ponytail and the way the two, thin eyebrows would furrow cutely when their owner answered texts in her scroll.

But knowing she would be ready the next time she met with Weiss made it easier to go through her day without drowning in a mixture of longing and regret.

When Ruby unconsciously looked at the clock it was already 11:07am, the time at which Weiss would usually come for her coffee. As expected, she didn't show up or even walked near the store.

It was just as she had anticipated, and she had to admit she was thankful the older woman still wouldn't appear since it meant she had more time to prepare. But it didn't keep her from hurting, if only from afar... she'd like seeing her again.

"Um... Excuse me..." the woman standing before her shyly waved her hand in an attempt to catch her attention and Ruby snapped back to reality, wincing at her previous train of thought.

"I apologize dear customer. Welcome to Cherry Erdbeere, how can I help you?" she put up her best smile while inwardly reprimanding herself. Now wasn't the time to be distracted, though a few, there were clients who came to the store to be properly served, not ignored! Just like the cute girl standing uneasily in front of her.

Examining her looks Ruby found out she looked like a fairly young office lady, with her black pleated skirt accompanied by black tights, and white, silky blouse pristine clean. In fact, her whole image would've looked awfully professional if it wasn't for her nervous fidgeting and the bunny ears at the top of her head trembling.

_"So cute~, I'm sure her fur would be even softer than Blake's."_ Ruby tried her hardest not to look at the chocolate brown pelt covering the woman's long ears, the least she wanted was to seem absentminded **and **rude. Meanwhile the lady's eyes danced around the counter separating them, her thick lashes doing a good job in shadowing the dark brown orbs underneath.

After a minute or two of fidgeting, she looked right at Ruby.

"You… must be Miss Ruby Rose… Am I right?" the unexpected, softly spoken words uttered by the elegant lady caught Ruby off guard. Was this someone she was supposed to know? It seems that was the case. Yet her brain wasn't able to come up with any memory of a bunny faunus similar to the woman fidgeting in front of her.

"Umm yeah... That's me. I'm sorry, do I know you?"

The woman's ears perked, and her expression brightened considerably, a sigh of relief escaping her lips and confidence seeping back into her posture thanks to Ruby's answer. With the uncertainty bleeding out of her it became more than evident that the bunny lady was in fact as professional as her image suggested.

"Oh, not really. I apologize for intruding in your work Miss Rose. My name is Velvet Scarlatina, I work for Miss Schnee. I was wondering if you could give me a minute or two to talk." the endearing traces of an accent Ruby couldn't quite identify were forgotten immediately when her mind came to a halt and she froze, the color draining from her face as she instinctively stepped back.

"Uhm... Am I in trouble? Wait, am I being sued? I-I swear it's a misunderstanding. Oh, Dust what am I going to tell Yang." she ran a hand through her hair feeling an anxiety attack ready to sweep her like a crashing wave.

"Wait, wait! I'm not her lawyer, I'm her secretary." Velvet did her best to calm the girl in front of her then looked back to find a line of people forming behind her. She really needed to get right to the point.

"It's not what you think. Miss Schnee just wanted to know what happened to the check she gave you since her balance has not reflected any money withdrawal. I assure you she's not planning on suing you. I'll properly explain in a bit and uhm..." she gave a quick glance at the menu and then turned to Ruby once again. "I guess I'll have three of the usual... Her usual I mean."

The gnawing feeling that started to creep up Ruby's back came to a stop with the short explanation. Her muscles were still tense with worry, but little by little the frantic beating inside her ribcage fell back to its usual rhythm.

"I understand… Don't worry about the price; tell Weiss I'll be covering those three. It's the least I can do. We can talk when I hand them to you at your table, is that fine Miss Scarlatina?"

Velvet wanted to refuse her amiable offer but after the sudden halt she'd caused in the service it was better for her to comply than to risk causing any more trouble.

"Well then, I'll wait over there." Velvet made a small bow and quickly ran off to the nearest table, taking out her scroll to send a message.

Ruby finally let the breath she'd been holding inside her lungs escape, deflating as she gave herself a second to lean her weight on the counter and pull herself back up.

If a heart attack felt anything close to this she'd seriously consider improving her diet.

"Jaune don't prepare these next three, I'll do them myself." she half-shouted to her partner operating the area of coffee preparation.

"Got it!" he simply answered back.

After registering the transaction on her tab and handling the next customers, the young woman turned towards her blonde companion while fiddling with her fingers. The desire to know what Weiss wanted to indirectly tell her overcoming her feelings of not wanting to inconvenience her friend any more than she already had.

"Hey Jaune, there aren't many customers left, think you could hold the counter and deal with the coffee preparation for a minute or two? I need to speak with Miss Scarlatina. It's… important."

Upon examination Jaune quickly noticed her guilty expression as well as her desperation to talk with the faunus waiting for her at a small table. "Sure. I swear it must be my lucky day if I'm getting a chance to help you without doing it behind your back." he joked, a comfortable smile tugging at the edges of his mouth.

Ruby beamed at him and gave him a hurried hug of gratitude "Thanks I'll be back really quick!" the words spilled from her mouth very fast. When she was about to go running to the small table at the front Jaune stopped her with his arm.

"Hey, easy there, Nora Two. You can take your time. I'll be fine. I don't mean to brag but I'm being trained by the best." he chuckled at the flabbergasted expression on Ruby's face. Whether it was by the comparison or his flattery, he wasn't sure. Regardless, he took advantage of her surprise and dragged her to the coffee maker. "And she asked for three of your magic coffee blends, remember?"

"O-oh right, right. Of course." she couldn't stop herself from face-palming and rubbing her face tiredly. "Thanks, Jaune."

"Anytime."

The counter was again occupied, this time by her blonde friend who was handling the customers pretty well if she may say so. Turning to the left she found Velvet rhythmically tapping on the table with her fingertips, her gaze sole focused on the clock over the wall. Had she become impatient after Ruby had lost too much time handling the line of customers that formed while they talked?

She sure hoped that wasn't the case, but, just in case, she needed to act quick.

Expertly Ruby carried her task without losing time, continually gliding from the pantry to the second coffee machine without losing a beat. She'd carried out the 'ritual', as Jaune called it, enough times to execute the various steps without even thinking about it.

She cleaned the portafilter to ensure old coffee residue wouldn't affect the taste, picked a generous spoon of her personally prepared grounded coffee beans and dosed them. The rest of the complex stuff, as Jaune liked to call it, she did by muscle memory until she had three cups of Weiss's usual coffee ready to go.

The walk to Velvet's table was incredibly short, so much Ruby actually regretted telling her to sit at the closest free space. Sure, had sort of prepared to talk with Weiss, but it wasn't the same when their 'talk' was through the woman's secretary. Less so considering she couldn't even apologize, and Weiss wouldn't answer back.

Velvet was literally only here to relay Weiss message, and it wasn't even about what happened on Saturday. It was about money, or something along those lines.

Well… on the bright side, she wasn't getting sued.

"Uhm… Sorry for the wait there were, you know, clients." she chuckled nervously standing uncomfortably at the side of the table. Was she supposed to sit or was this going to be so quick she was better off standing still?

"On the contrary Miss Rose, I apologize for stopping you from doing your job." Velvet stood up when she heard Ruby's voice and took the tray holding the three cups of coffee with an apologetic smile appearing on her face.

Careful to not spill the hot beverage she sat down again took out a small piece of paper she had been holding inside the front pocket of her white blouse, carefully reading its contents. After a couple of second the bunny faunus turned to look at Rub with her head tilted in confusion.

"Aren't you going to sit Miss Rose?"

Immediately Ruby plopped on the seat at the other side of the table for two, feeling her head heat up in embarrassment.

_"I knew I had to sit too; she must think I'm a weirdo." _

"This won't take much time Miss Rose, as I previously mentioned, Miss Schnee sent me to ask whether or not you have cashed in the check she gave you this Monday." Velvet looked again at the small paper with neat handwriting then again at Ruby.

"The what?" she asked not understanding what the woman in front of her was telling her.

"Check… Miss Schnee said she signed you a check. Are you not aware of this Miss Rose?" Velvet answered back with her voiced laced with the same confusion Ruby's carried.

The younger woman tried to remember the horrific 'talk', if she could even call it a talk, between her and Weiss on Monday night. And finally, her mind was able to remind her of Weiss's last sentence filled with resignation and disappointment; _Get the check. Do not approach my father._

Right… she'd pay her to stay away from her father… because she thought Ruby was robbing her father.

"Honestly, I didn't even remember I had it until today. The check must be crumpled inside a drawer in my house or something." she chuckled unenthusiastically. Being reminded of Weiss new perspective of her wasn't uplifting at all.

"Oh! That explains why the bank has registered no money withdrawals." Velvet nodded and checked a crooked square box in her small list, proceeding to then cross out two other sentences Ruby wasn't able to read.

"Well, with that being the case I don't have much to say Miss Rose, other than to remind you to exchange the check as soon as you're able to do so. Miss Schnee was concerned something was wrong with it and you wouldn't want to exchange it. But it seems she was fretting over nothing." she folded the paper and tucked it back into her pocket.

"Is… is that all?" Ruby question was an amalgam of hopefulness, disappointment and relief. Weiss message was very professional, and direct to the point, which her brain interpreted as the older woman not being as furious as she thought she was. And yet, was this everything Weiss wanted to tell her?

It seemed like she didn't care at all about their budding relationship and just wanted to get this transaction out of the way so she could completely erase her from her life.

It was disheartening.

"Yes, that would be all. Thanks for your cooperation Miss Rose. I'm afraid I must leave; I'm running short on break time." Velvet gracefully stood up from the chair and again glanced at the clock on the wall, her eyes softening when she noticed she wasn't as late as she expected.

"Oh and, thanks for the drinks. Miss Schnee has been…" the woman stretched the word and put a finger over her lips deep in thought "ill-tempered since she stopped coming for her daily dose of caffeine. I'm sure the work you put in these coffees will relieve some of her bundled stress."

The tender thankfulness spoke of an understanding Velvet held regarding Ruby's feelings towards whatever was happening between her and Weiss. It was almost like the woman could see how desperate she was trying to use the coffee as a bridge between them.

Had the white-haired woman talked to her secretary about what transpired on Saturday? Weiss seemed too reserved to speak with anyone about it.

But then again, Ruby knew almost nothing about her. Hers could be nothing more than a twisted interpretation of who Weiss actually was.

Regardless, she felt that if her feelings were strong enough to reach Velvet whom she barely knew, they could also achieve the same with Weiss. Maybe it wasn't related to what Nora had told her about rabbits being able to sense emotions of the humans around them.

"I hope it does… Give…" she swallowed the lump that suddenly rose in her throat. "Give her my regards."

"Certainly."

The kind faunus promptly left the small building, her hands carefully holding the wobbling plastic cups against her torso in an attempt to keep them from spilling the scorching liquid. Ruby's eyes turned to the window following the retreating figure through the park until she lost sight of her.

Seems like, just like Ruby thought, she was heading to the huge, marble-colored building a couple of blocks away. Where Weiss would be waiting for her return.

Standing up from her seat she walked back to her place at the counter, relieving Jaune from his shared duty that lasted no more than a couple of minutes.

"Did… everything go smoothly?"

He gently probed when she thanked him for his help.

"I guess?"

"You guess?"

She shrugged not wanting to think too much about the unexpected encounter. Once again, Jaune knew to better not to ask, and both continued with their respective work.

Ruby arduously worked through her morning shift, keeping herself busy so that there was no space for any negative thoughts to bubble back up after the unexpected talk with Miss Scarlatina. For now, it seemed like it was working just as planned.

In fact, if she continued like this, the rest of the day would be a breeze.

Thankfully she was able to keep it up the rest of the afternoon at school. Today she had 3 classes, lasting an hour and a half each. These were a welcome distraction that would keep her brain busy as much as she needed.

Despite the fact she had a long break between her first and second class, she was able take keep herself distracted by taking advantage of the school's facilities and doing light exercise.

She ran a couple of laps around the track field as a cardio warmup and followed it up with her usual calisthenics' routine. Throughout all her workout she was accompanied by the blast of her 'inspirational' playlist coming from her headphones. She was so laser focused on the upbeat music her muscles would contract and relax following each song's rhythm.

After an hour of exercise, she left the ample fitness center at the school's west wing, saying her thanks to the supervisor, and took a quick shower to arrive clean to her last class of the day.

The class's topic was so interesting yet complex she didn't even notice the hour and half fly by until the young teacher concluded the course and dismissed everyone.

And finally came the hard part.

The trip back home by bus would leave her with nothing to keep her mind from wandering unless she took a nap. And, considering her past experiences with napping on public transportation, she was wise enough to know it wasn't a good idea.

She considered drawing on the fogged glass of the window, but pretty soon she found herself drawing stuff connected to what happened, even if it seemed unrelated at first; a bunny and a snowflake.

She also considered writing on her small notebook, but the bus driver wasn't the best at making the long ride a smooth one. A simple look at the piece of paper was enough to notice her writing looked more like hieroglyphics than words, so she gave up.

Texting Jaune was a no-no since he hardly looked at his scroll during his drive home. She'd need a stable connection to talk with Penny through their joint server. And Ren and Nora were most likely caught up in a shenanigan the ginger woman had come up with out of thin air.

Maybe... Blake?

No, she didn't really want to bother her anymore. Besides she knew the young woman wasn't one for idle chatting.

The world was telling her there was no more avoiding the topic. She'd have to think about the check waiting for her inside one of the drawers of her room. But most of all, what the small paper meant.

She huffed and let her forehead rest on the cool surface of the window at her left side. Her breath hit the tarnished surface of the thick glass, causing a white fogginess to monetarily appear.

Outside the moving vehicle she could still distinguish the lights of the cars and the people walking by, but her mind was elsewhere.

Weiss's check was meant to keep her away from receiving any more money from Mr. Schnee. That part was obvious. And it only worked in confirming her theory that Weiss saw her as a selfish person who was only in it for the money.

Which was... sort of true, but because it was her job. A service she was lending to the older man through a small agency.

She wasn't in any way praying on her dad.

Dust, it was the first time she'd even seen him!

Which was something she'd wanted to tell Weiss to clear their misunderstanding.

But... She'd heard Schnee's were, a bit... Prideful when it came to their name and their place in the world. There existed the possibility telling her story would end up offending her.

_"You didn't even know my father? And he's just one out of many? You're the worst"_

Her body deflated on the seat she'd taken.

She was aware that the line of work of an escort, no matter how pure she maintained it, was mostly looked in disgust. Since many said the girls were taking advantage of other people's loneliness to make money.

But she'd never seen it that way.

Indeed, she chose the job because it paid good money, but being Ruby 'Red' Rose had worked wonders in helping her reach out to others. With the 'beautiful, athletic and confident' persona Torchwick created for her it felt like she was able to normally socialize and talk with others.

Very different from just plain Ruby Rose.

There were definitely 'starved' guys, as her boss called them, who paid for her looks and their desire to be with a pretty girl. But there were also others like Oscar, who hired her out of the typical teenage curiosity and ended up becoming more of an actual friend than a habitual client.

Most however were like Weiss's dad, who just wanted pretty company to flaunt at their personal events. All for the sole purpose of looking better in front of their guests whom they hardly knew.

In fact, the older man meant to hire someone slightly older to begin with!

However, that hardly mattered when she didn't know if Weiss would understand her position.

Would she even care enough to try to understand?

There was also the important question of how much money it was.

Ruby hoped it wasn't much, because then it meant Weiss wasn't that angry with. And she could even give back that same quantity of lien but produced with her own work as a way of showing that, though money was important, she valued their friendship more.

It'd function like an apology and a show that the money she earnt meant little in comparison.

Weiss wouldn't need the money, being a Schnee and all, but what mattered was the meaning behind it.

Ruby nodded and took outside of her backpack a medium sized calculator colored with drawings made by liquid paper. She quickly began making calculations of her earnings plus her saved money to see how much she'd manage to pay and how much time I'd take her.

If it was around 10,000 lien she could 'easily' handle it with some of her savings and a couple of weeks of work. Past 30,000 lien she'd need to use most of her savings in order to avoid taking a lot of time in paying Weiss back.

Surely the woman wouldn't pay her close to 50,000… right? Otherwise she'd really be in a pinch. That amount of money would take her lots of time working without spending a single cent on her necessities, hobbies or school. Any more than that her brain told her it was impossible to pay without taking years.

Regardless, Ruby found her idea of 'paying back' as the perfect cherry on top that would make her explanation of her work and what happened with Weiss's father more credible. Besides, how likely was it that Weiss gave that huge amount of money to basically a stranger just to keep them away.

Weiss would have to really hate her if that was the case.

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Ruby looked at the paper that was being held by her hands and quickly folded it; her eyes open wide in disbelief.

She must be mistaken, of course two of those ceros were cents. They must definitely be cents. Otherwise how could anyone easily give that amount of money as if it was pocket change?

She took a seat on her bed since she felt her legs becoming wobbly and her hands tremble. Then once again opened the folded paper, carefully looking over the written number, once, twice, thrice. As many times as she needed until she was completely sure that she wasn't making any mistakes.

Her gaze instinctively shifted to the left side towards the neat handwriting beneath Weiss's name.

_'Pay to the Order of Ruby Rose Four Hundred Sixty Thousand Lien'_

"Oh, Dust! Those two ceros are actually not cents." she exclaimed flabbergasted.

Stupefied wasn't enough to describe her current state of being. This amount of money was unbelievable. She doubted anyone in her family had been able to hold on to something like this for long.

Between her fingers was being held a paper that meant so many possibilities could be opened.

For a moment her mind wandered to memories of her mother and the stories she'd heard from her final living days. The extensive treatments she suffered in vain. The regret in the faces of her father and uncle as they lamented not getting enough lien to have her cured of her affliction.

Could… could the money of this check have been enough to make a difference back then?

She noticed a couple of tears fall to her hands and the floor and a strangled gasp escape her mouth as she began openly weeping. The warm tears running down her face threatening to wet the paper that now seemed heavier than anything she'd ever carried.

So many things could be fixed in her life with this money.

They had been needing it so desperately for years.

Yet she already knew she was going to be egoistic; she wouldn't exchange it.

It felt more like she couldn't.

If she did, not only would it be as if she was confirming what Weiss thought she'd done, but also, she'd be taking advantage of the woman due to a misunderstanding.

Weiss…

She quickly threw the piece of paper back to the drawer at her side, slammed it and tried her hardest to hold the tears blurring her vision as she laid on her bed. Needless to say, by the moans escaping her lips through the suppressed sound of hiccups, she was failing miserably.

She wasn't sure how expensive healthcare was back when her mother got sick, but she was sure this sum could mean so much.

For her mother back then.

For her father's current lifestyle.

For Uncle Qrow's personal issues.

For Yang now that she constantly paid loans.

For herself…

But for Weiss it meant nothing more than a strong desire to not ever see her face again.

The young woman actually considered losing almost half a million lien worth not having to deal with her.

And it hurt.

Almost as much as knowing she didn't have the heart to keep the money.

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Fierrin: Hey! So, we took like 2 months to finish up this one. In reality, this one wasn't supposed to take that much, but thanks to finals and vacations being in the way we really took a long time in order to come back and finish the chapter in the best way possible. Again, please, praise Sati for doing most of the work for this chapter; the madwoman literally added up like 15 pages plus what I had in my draft. As always, we have already planned out the next two chapters, but we probably will take a break in order to write something about She-Ra next (Sati loves She-Ra, she is the one who presented me the series). Aside from that, we want to thank everyone who supported, faved or followed the fanfic, it really gives us strength in order to continue. If you have any comment, theory or idea, feel free to added it for us to read it. With nothing else to say, thanks all for your support, we shall see you in the next chapter. Enjoy!

Sati: I must apologize for I'm the main reason why this took so long to be published. Fierrin expected this to end in 10-15 pages in total, and I made it basically 30 pages long… that and the fact that I was away from home for 3 weeks and a half didn't help. Anyways, I've been following Volume VII and, am I the only who has like a huge craving to see Ruby and Weiss interacting? I rewatched Volume 1 through 6 and I miss the good old comedic Beacon days where Ruby would constantly pester Weiss about the two of them being BFFs and Weiss slowly becoming soft with her TT_TT. So yeah, I try to satisfy the lack of it by looking at fanarts and writing ahead of the chapter where we're at since Weiss and Ruby are technically still strangers at the current point in time. Thanks for your support and again I apologize for the tardiness.


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